I am an enthusiast of Chinese Brush Painting and I would like to share my trials and tribulations in learning the craft. I want to document the process, the inspiration and the weird ideas behind my projects and to address some of the nuances related to this dicipline. I hope to create a dialogue and stir up some interest in the art of painting with a Chinese brush on Xuan. In any case, it would be interesting to see my own evolution as time progresses.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Two Ancient Pieces
This piece of work is suppose to emulate the old classic style of Chinese Brush painting. The emphasis is with the lines, with scant use of color. My theory is that in the old days, illumination
is not great in a typical Chinese dwelling, even during daytime. So color scheme is simple and sparingly used. Artists showed their craft by displaying superb line qualities. Moist vs. dry, side tip, straight tip, fleeting strokes and hesitations are all used in a harmonious way to illustrate the aesthetic qualities of the painting. The "chuen" ( rubbing technique) is typically the "hemp" style, i.e. ala hemp fibres.
The land masses on the left has totally different characteristics from the right. The left is of multi-lobed hills, so the " hemp chuen" is used to define the quality of the slopes, the convolutions of the hills. The "hemp chuen" gives a rounded, definitely not jagged feel to the land features. The right hand side speaks of drama. Bold, protruding granites form the main features. Here the "chuen" is more of the "axe" type. Bold, discrete side-tips with lifts to give the harsh texture. Of course shading adds to the strong 3-D feel of features to the entire land mass.
The left and right is joined by a transitional spit, via a bridge. The willows on the spit bends to the right, answering to the left bending willows on the right side of the painting. Water space is left blank, with a very faint hint of the same brown color of the hills (integrating the overall color scheme of the painting)
This painting failed in the sense that the color was too heavy and too bright. I would have preferred a more subdued hue, especially that awful green with the willows. The mountain streams should be left with just a hint of color. The plateau on the left, behind the ridges is showing the wrong perspective..... showing too much of the top. The shore line on the right scurries upwards instead of staying at horizontal...... I must be tired.
Well, these are areas that I need to correct, if I have to redo this painting. I actually have sized another length of paper and I wanted to paint this again on sized paper, to see if the sized paper would give the painting a less saturated look, therefore coming closer to the "antique" feel of the painting.
Monday, April 6, 2009
ONE PERSON ONE STROKE PROJECT
Saturday, February 21, 2009
ABOVE THE CLOUDS
Thursday, February 12, 2009
How "Splash" was created
Friday, February 6, 2009
SPLASH
The Beaverton Arts Commission had an open call for artists to submit their works for an exhibition at the Beaverton Library. I had submitted 4 pieces and this is the only one accepted.
This was indeed a new experience for me. I was experimenting with the style and technique of my art work.
The style is kind of abstract.... it is Xueye ( paint with feeling, thought) for sure and the technique is to paint around the voids. I was experimenting with my own concoction of a masking solution. I settled with alum and milk. The painting was created with controlled flicks of the masking solution on Xuan paper. I then painted around the splashing, forming my water and rock and boulder. Title of the piece is called "SPLASH" and I am quite happy with the impression of movement, and a palpable sense of energy. I am especially gratified that I could still paint the rock and boulders using traditional Chinese technique. I feel that I have amalgamated pretty nicely the East with the West.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
The Conception of "Moon Lit Stream"
Moon Lit Creek- an academic debate
This is a painting about a poem, where the verse reads: "The moonlight is shining on pines, the the clear creek runs over rocks"
This finished work sparked quite a lengthy discussion in my painting class. The main criticism was that the painting was too dark, unbecoming of Chinese painting.
My thoughts on my work/composition is that I am trying to depict a night scene, therefore the dark tones. I am trying to create depth by painting a darker backdrop of a cliff ( inspired by the Multnomah Falls in the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon). I chose the dark backdrop also to accentuate the ribbon of water, which acts as a lead-in to the subject matters. I painted the upper pines as dead wood, to show the ruggedness, and the stillness of the cold night. The pink foliage on the right is used to contrast with the starkness to the left (common practice in Chinese thematic treatment, the so called Ying and Yang) I left the bottom of the fall blank, so it shows up as illuminated spray. The bottom of the dead tree trunks are also lit, defining the path of moon light. Finally the light from the moon hits the tips of pine needles on the lower left ( I added titanium to my brush for that effect) and the running creek, whose presence is augmented by the dark rocks in the stream. I also used a warm color tone to offset the cold shroud of moon light.
I might add that this painting has a rather stunning effect if displayed with a halogen beam on the water, this is to exploit the translucent property of the Xuan paper. This is why Chinese paintings do not as a rule, use white pigments to describe water.