Continuing to act out

Fueled by the recent attempts to romanticize  lotus root harvesters, I re-examined the martial art figure paintings that are pinned on my walls.  I now wanted to create a series of figures.  Not in the vein of the hazy silhouettes of the long-polers, but more like a staged presentation, a group exercise.

Strike the iron while it's hot.

I was trying to avoid the flat line arrangement  by grouping my figures in a semi-circle. Using various clothing combination and shades of  black to break up a otherwise monotonous composition.  I even threw in a female figure in the center for good measure!  She looked almost like a man suffering from gynecomastia, with a horse tail hairdo pinned on.

I don't dislike the painting.  I thought I was able to parlez a sense of movement.  A sense of energy.
Then I realized that my proportions were out of whack.  The figure on the left had too big of a torso, the man next to him looked weird.

My figures didn't carry any hidden symbolism, as the right hand of David purported to. I've seen sketches by fashion designers that really accentuated the waist, the bust, or the limbs.  Was I subconsciously exaggerating particular scales to emphasize certain gestures?   Perhaps.

So I decided to rein in my imagination a little by trying another set of martial art forms.    These new figures were a lot smaller.   By working on a smaller sample, I felt the inevitable urge to be a little more precise, even at the expense of being too logical. 

The arms on the third man from the left was still too long.   But I really liked those long flowing lines.  Such grace.

So what should it be.  How should it be.  Am I allowed certain latitude when painting human forms  or do I have to demonstrate my knowledge in anatomy in order to paint human figures?  In traditional Chinese figure painting, the images were all flat, devoid of any semblance of a three dimensional projection, devoid of any shading.  Does the fact that I am using a Chinese brush on Xuan mean that I have to paint in the traditional style to merit the resulting work? 

Food for thought.

At the end of the day, I am painting for my own amusement.  Yet painting involves exposing myself a little; taking emotional stock,  and I can't do that in a vacuum.  I do react to people's feedback, I'm not immune to that.   I do believe, however, that if a painting moves me, it has to move someone, somewhere.

Push Pole Brigade ( Brushed Line version)

While still digesting the last painting, I decided to do another version, with more emphasis on lines.

For this I used a paper that is normally reserved for calligraphy. I had not used this particular brand before but I was game.  This paper has a slight yellowish tint to it although one can't tell from the picture.

I had intended to go on, but somehow the void on the right stopped me.  I thought it was interesting.  I just wasn't sure where the focal point should be. 

Let me ruminate on that.

I decided to jazz up the dark values such that the audience is drawn deeper into the painting.  I also filled in the background with more shadows; semblance of more figures.  Nothing too drastic, but now I can sense where the punch is coming from.

Push Pole Brigade (Punting for Lotus Root)

Happy New Year !

I was lounging around and caught a documentary on lotus root harvesters.  That is a job I could never do.  There were times that I had to put on my waders to repair the banks along the creek behind my house and I was totally exhausted in 5 minutes trying to free my feet from the mud.

I was impressed with how poetic it seemed; heading out in the waking morning, traversing the waterways to the lotus pond, pushing off the long poles to propel the sampans, gliding.

I suppose it would be poetic only if one ignores the imminent hard labor.  Still I pretend to be in the company of fellow harvesters, forming a queue, pushing off, anticipating the bounty, day dreaming a little in the early dawn mist.


I chose to use a rather dark Prussian Blue/Ink combination.  I thought ink alone would be too subdued.  I would use different tones to expand the spatial relationship's.  I wanted to present the objects against the light, for a silhouette effect, and using the different orientations of the long poles to add interest and direct attention.

I brushed on some darker color onto the closest subject, for a better contrast.  Using a clean brush and clean water I moistened a thin margin around the outline so the color/ink would migrate out a little.  This was done to avoid a harsh outline presented by the overwhelming dark patch.

The alteration added drama to the first edition.

Lets all forge ahead and make this a successful new year!

Tree Grooming

I dug up an old, unfinished painting of 3 trees.  My last painting exercise made me do it.

The crown of the main tree is filled in to make it look fuller.  The main trunks are painted over with a really rich ink that I found.  Giving the tree added dimension and a cogent presence.   This added "blackness" contrasts very nicely with the lighter strokes, and plays up the thin white margins left by the alum solution.


The cluster on the right side of the painting was actually painted on the back of the paper.  Ink was allowed to bleed through, forming a somewhat blurry and washed out image.

I used my brush wash to selectively douse some branch clusters, forming shadows and adding to the three dimensional presentation.

Just realized that I started out the year with this tree.  I suppose it is fitting to end the year with it too.

 

 

Ho Hum

First it was 50 miles per hour wind coupled with freezing temperature.

Now it is 50 miles per hour wind with mild temperature but tons of rain.  A blistery day.

Swells are at 20 feet.  The images of waves slapping the jetties are awesome.  Too bad I am too chicken to brave the weather.  Staying home to paint instead.  I need to nurture my sanguine disposition.

The wind and rain had pretty much stripped the trees of their leaves.  The silhouette left by the branches is like looking at the sky through a well used loofah.

I'll be faithful to the cut out look.  Ink shall be my color.  I mixed alum solution with my ink, hoping to achieve the crystalline margin amongst the different brush strokes.

I laid out the main trunks and grew my tree from there.

The trees are more filled out now.

Using broad side tip strokes to depict what little is left on the branches. I slanted my brush strokes at an angle to create some movement.  I am sure the pithy rain gave me that idea.

I filled in the gaps using a combination of dots and short dabs to make the scene a little busier than it really is.

Finally I used a very light sepia color to selectively darken the left side and upper corner of the painting, contrasting that with the white space and the more sparse arrangement on the right, befitting my idea of harmony.

I did not get the anticipated white margins from using the alum solution.  I believe this is because I am using a semi-sized paper instead of the raw un-sized Xuan that had been my staple.

Putting scraps to good use

I have a nasty habit of not cleaning up my ink dish, and color dish for that matter.  Of course, remnants of Xuan belong to that category of clean up later.

Today I am going to re-purpose my scattered goodies.

Found a little frame that I picked up from a second hand store years ago and decided to do some doodling using my dried up ink and color on a piece of Xuan that rested against my stool.

I wish I had a smaller seal for small works like this one.

Finishing Touches

Now that we are happy with a piece of work and consider it done, we need to make it presentable.

I have prepared most of my works using the Xuan-Boo method that I devised, but allow me to show the more common wet mount method.

The finished painting is placed face down on a smooth surface like glass of acrylic, and starch is brushed on the back with a stiff brush.  The stiff brush helps to push out all the trapped air bubbles and brush out the creases in the Xuan.

On top of this is laid a piece of blank Xuan, which is a little larger around th  edges than the painting we are preparing.  Starch is applied along the edges of this piece of blank Xuan, and the entire piece is lifted to be hung on a new flat surface, like a wall or a door.

The process allows the wet starch to relax the fibres in the Xuan where we painted our work, and the new blank Xuan forms the backing, adding stiffness and provides a white reference background for our work (Xuan is translucent, thus the white background is critical in establishing the white balance, as in photography)  When the blank Xuan get hung ( with the painting attached on the other side), its edges are glued to the wall or door.  As the blank Xuan dries, it tauts the fiber in the paper, tightening up the entire surface of the painting. 

Now my work is free of wrinkles, and stiffened with backing, and looks richer because of the added white balance.  The painting is now "mounted" and is ready for framing.

For this piece of work  I chose a float frame i.e. the back plate is transparent also. I did this to take advantage of the translucent nature of Xuan.  When I place this framed painting against a window or light source, the painting takes on a different ambiance.  It reminds me of the double faced silk embroidery or a lit lantern.

 

 

The poetry on my painting came from a poet in the Ming Dynasty.  The loose translation is as follows:

 

One can't have song and dance with wine

 

Whatever poetry one writes is for nobody

 

Yes your desk is full of documents

 

Yet half of them are rubbish

(Song and dance with wine is the proper protocol in social settings.  If one is in the company of wine and can't amount to song and dance, one is doomed and castigated.  One can't be happy even when the occasion dictates it.   You think you know it all, but the truth says otherwise.  The author is lamenting that his Master has entrusted the wrong people)