VIRGINIA LLOYD-DAVIES - JOYFUL BRUSH®
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Adventures in Brush Painting

7 Easy Steps to Paint a Sumi-e Bird

6/5/2020

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Author

Virginia Lloyd-Davies, author of  "Mindful Artist: Sumi-e Painting" has been painting and teaching sumi-e and Chinese brush techniques for 43 years. Purchase videos in her website store or check out her YouTube channel.

Sumi-e Painting of black ink bird on branch
Simple Sumi-e Bird
Introduction: What is Sumi-e? Sumi-e (ink wash painting from Japan) and Chinese brush painting are based on Asian calligraphy. Subjects are painted with simple strokes, using the tip or the side of the brush.
Here's How: Watch the video and follow the 7 simple steps to create this bird. You will need bottled Chinese ink, a small pointed Chinese brush and a selection of colors of your choice. Absorbent Xuan "rice" paper or newsprint works best.

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Lotus and Kingfishers in Chinese Brush Technique

5/30/2020

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green lotus leaves, pink lotus flower and two blue kingfishers Picture
Lotus and Kingfishers in Chinese Brush Painting Technique
Sumi-e paintings of lotus leaves are often executed in strong black ink, but there is a delicious floaty quality to Chinese brush paintings using a combination of indigo blue and yellow, and just a tip of black ink for emphasis. In this case, I used Yasutomo Chinese Watercolors in tubes. The colors are very vibrant, even after they dry, and because they are Chinese watercolors, they will not run on the paper when re-wetted. The paper is thin, raw "xuan" or rice paper.  The red chop or seal on the left is called a "mood seal" and reads "the brush dances and the ink sings". The two chops below my Chinese signature on the right are "Wei Jen", my Chinese art name, and an oval cartouche with my Western initials.
​
Composition Tip: Notice the strong triangles formed between the leaves, the birds and the flower. The triangle is a classical element in Asian compositions. It emphasizes the perspective in a painting and gives a sense of three dimensions.
Lotus painting with 3 triangles superimposed Picture
Triangular Composition
You can learn how to paint lotus and kingfishers in my book "Mindful Artist: Sumi-e Painting" published by Quarto and available worldwide in bookstores and on the internet. See step by step illustrations and useful tips in this popular book. ​You can also find more lotus compositions in my painting galleries and in my blog posts. Good luck and happy painting!
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Sumi-e Birds & Blossoms Step-by-Step Tutorial

4/14/2020

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sumi-e painting of  birds sitting on a branch with orange blossoms and green leaves
Birds & Blossoms Sumi-e Painting by Virginia Lloyd-Davies
Want to try my sumi-e painting of "Birds & Blossoms"? Here are some tips on how to create your own masterpiece. Don't be dismayed if yours turns out differently from mine. Sumi-e and Chinese brush paintings come alive through the energy of the brush strokes, and every artist's strokes are unique.

​Practice! Once you have studied the step-by-step elements and practiced with the video segments, the composition will come together easily for you. Think of it as an adventure! You'll find the link to the full video at the end of this post.
​
Materials: I am using thin raw xuan ("rice") paper, but you can use double raw xuan if you prefer. (Recommended Chinese paper suppliers.) Sized Asian paper or Western watercolor paper will not give you the effects you need to create this xie-yi ("paint the idea" or "spontaneous style") painting. I am using two sumi-e brushes: a small, mixed bristle brush with a good point for the birds, the veins and the flower stamens, and a larger, fatter, mixed bristle brush (it could be all soft or hard bristle, depending on your preference) for the petals and leaves. (Recommended Chinese brush suppliers.)

The Birds

Sumi-e Painting of 2 brown birds
Closeup of Birds on Xuan Rice Paper
Load your brush with strong black ink and start with the beak and eye of both birds. This establishes their relationship and will give you some ideas for the bodies (facing front, facing back, body higher, body lower, etc). This is a simple Chinese sitting bird composition. I am using a small mixed bristle brush with a good point. Hold the brush upright for the beak and eye, and at a slant for the wings and belly. Add the feet when the branch is dry. You can learn more about painting birds in my book "Mindful Artist: Sumi-e Painting" published by Quarto. Watch the birds here:

Blossoms

These are very loose flowers, somewhere between magnolia and lotus. You could paint pink plum or dogwood blossoms too.

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Sumi-e Book Launch Party!

11/21/2019

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Picture
Save the date!

Virginia’s Book Launch Party, Friday, December 13, 2019! 

Come help me launch my new book “Mindful Artist: Sumi-e Painting” at Books & Co on Nelson Street, Lexington, VA Friday, December 13, 5-7 p.m. We will have demonstrations, hands-on ‘brush and paper’ tables set up, book signings, art cards and of course REFRESHMENTS! You can reserve your copy of the book in advance through the store - just drop by or call (540) 464-8697 to place your order. Please join me for a fun event! If you can't make it to the event but would like an autographed copy, order through Books & Co and I will sign it and personalize it and you can pick it up later or have it shipped to you.
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Sneak Peek into my new Sumi-e Book!

11/9/2019

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"Mindful Artist: Sumi-e Painting" will be published worldwide on December 3, 2019. Here's a 28-second video showing you a sampling of the 128 pages. I created over 300 images for the book, and it is chock-full of step-by-step illustrations, creative tips and prompts. I include detailed instructions on how to paint many favorite subjects and information on paper, brushes, ink and colors. You can read more in my blog posts on materials here and here.
The book is available online worldwide through Walter Foster/Quarto Publishing Group, or direct from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Books-a-Million.  (These are the internet links for the U.S.) If you are in another country, you can go to your country's website for Amazon, etc and put in the name of the book. ​Or you can support your local bookstore by ordering it through a retail outlet.
At $19.99 it makes a great Christmas present!
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My Sumi-e Videos in Japan!

10/20/2019

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3 people painting at a table Picture
Students practice bamboo strokes
My videos show up in wonderful places! Sensei William Reed, a long-time bilingual resident of Japan, teaches brush calligraphy at the International College of Liberal Arts in Yamanashi Gakuin University near Mt Fuji. He recently used my Bamboo video as a teaching tool. 
4 people watching video Picture
Watching Virginia's sumi-e bamboo video in class
Reed's students show great attention and mindfulness as they practice. They found it harder than expected to get the strokes right, but stayed well focused.
Picture Japanese student with brush
Student Practicing bamboo
Picture of Japanese student with brush
Student Practicing bamboo

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Sumi-e Secrets Revealed!

10/14/2019

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Sumi-e Book cover with 2 birds on a branch Picture
Cover of my new painting book
​I have exciting news! In February, I was approached by Walter Foster Publishing to write and illustrate a book entitled: “Mindful Artist: Sumi-e Painting”. Both subjects are very close to my heart, since being focused in the moment is essential for channeling the power and vitality of Asian brush painting. I weave the concept of mindful attention into my explanations on how to paint some of our favorite subjects, such as the Four Gentlemen (bamboo, orchid, plum, chrysanthemum) and iris, peonies, wisteria, grapes, bugs and birds. The idea is to demonstrate through step-by-step illustrations how to create paintings, but also how to use the practice and discipline of the painting techniques to focus the mind.

Chapter names and illustration of purple wisteria and bird Picture
Table of Contents
This 128-page book will be available December 3, just in time for the Christmas market. Here are a couple of illustrations I have created for the book. There will be over 300 pictures, some in elegant black ink and others in full color, so the book will appeal to painters, philosophers and art lovers alike! You can pre-order the book now, either online or at your local bookstore. Visit https://quartokno.ws/MindfulArtistSumie for more information and for links to purchase from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and more.
grapes and leaves Picture
How to Paint Grapes
Brown and yellow bird painting
Standing Bird Demonstration
butterfly in black ink and color Picture
Outline butterfly demonstration
Splashing happily in the ink here!
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It's a Frog Blog!

8/12/2019

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Frogs are hopping out of my sumi-e brush these days, becoming more energetic by the minute. Here's a sampling of the last few years of frogs. Some are whimsical and some are wicked. Some were painted in a moment of exuberance, and some brought me comfort when I was sick. Painting's like that.
Green tree frog on brown post in watercolor Picture
Tree Frog on a Post
My most recent frog. She looks a little shy!
Several different kinds of frogs in brown, green and yellow watercolor Picture
A Plethora of Frogs
I practice a lot, filling up sheets of rice paper. A lot get thrown out, but then sometimes, they are just too much fun to jettison!

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Upcoming Sumi-e Book

7/31/2019

3 Comments

 
Table of Contents and painting of wisteria Picture
Mindful Artist: Sumi-e Painting
Here's a sneak peek at what you'll find in my new book, "Mindful Artist: Sumi-e Painting". You can order it from your local bookstore or through Amazon or  through the publisher Walter Foster Books/Quarto Creates. Publication date is December 3, 2019. The e-book version will be released at the same time as the hard copy. I hope you're as excited as I am! I can hardly wait!
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Sneak Peek into my Upcoming Sumi-e Book

7/14/2019

1 Comment

 
How to paint grapes is one of the fourteen chapters of my sumi-e how-to book.. You can pre-order "Mindful Artist: Sumi-e Painting" at https://quartokno.ws/MindfulArtistSumie or on Amazon at https://amzn.to/2XG2Elf 
The book will be out December 3, 2019 - get ahead of the queue by pre-ordering!
images & text on how to paint grapesPicture
From the "Grapes" chapter
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    Virginia
    Lloyd-Davies

    Painting in sumi-e and Chinese brush technique since 1976 in 'splashing ink' style has taught me to appreciate the delights of spontaneity. Just as in life, there is no 'perfection' in painting, but there is much joy. Come join me in this adventure!

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  • Blog
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