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Springtime in the Mountains
I painted this 18 years ago and I remember thinking I wanted it to be bubbly and springlike. I held on to it because I liked the airiness of the composition and some of the elements - the cabins, the willow and the bridge, for instance - but I knew I had problems with the waterfall and I positively hated my little 'bunches' of red trees. Clearly I had little idea of how to integrate rock and vegetation. It felt unfinished, but back then I didn't know how to progress the painting. I decided to see if I could 'fix' some of the problems as an exercise to train my eye to see alternative choices.
Areas to Work On
Here are some of the areas I decided to change. I will add more bluish-green pines on the left behind the flowering tree. My reason is to hide the nasty humpy black hill strokes (bottom left circle). Above them, I will make those trees on the left a bit bigger (second circle) because they are the same size as the nasty little red trees on the right and they need to be bigger because they are closer.
Pines Added on Left and Right
I'm still unsure of what to do with those wretched little red trees on the right. I have added some more pines below them which has helped to make the wretched reds recede a bit, but it has also cut off part of the layer of mist (that white band) which, in Chinese painting vocabulary is the equivalent of "....." meaning: there is more landscape between the two layers but the mist indicates that things are further back.
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Black Ink Sketch on Mulberry Paper
Using just black ink and shades of grey, I started off sketching the rock and tree on the left and worked my way up the scene, spraying lightly with water to dampen the paper in the distance. This softens the outlines. My mulberry paper came from Blue Heron Arts, where you can find an excellent selection of paper, brushes and other painting supplies.
Completed Black Ink Sketch
Rather than leaving the center area open for mist, I opted for showing a meandering waterfall in the distance. I left several areas open for mist.
First Layer of Color
Adding light color....Uh-oh, it's all looking a bit brown! The addition of color has taken away from the strong contrast between the black ink and white paper, leaving it looking a bit muddy.
Second Layer of Color
Hmmm, I've added a bit of light, transparent green to the mountains, but it still looks a bit dreary.
Third Layer of Color
Wahoo! I've intensified the brown on the sides of the rocks and added mineral green and blue! Here's a closeup comparison of the house area:
Mountain & Houses in light colors
Mountain & Houses in Mineral Colors
Traditionalists might feel I've gone a bit Disney, but the use of mineral green and blue in Chinese landscape paintings goes back hundreds of years. You can see some examples here. And now the final version, complete with chops:
Cosy Cabins in the Mountains
Sometimes 'going for broke' is the most fun of all. I had no idea if the mineral colors would be too much, but I really like it, which is ultimately what counts. Break the rules! Find your own style! It's just a piece of paper, after all! Good luck and happy painting!
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How did I get here?
Admiring the Waterfall
When a painting is finished, the elements should lock together like a well-crafted story. You feel the inevitability of the composition but the steps to reach the conclusion are no longer evident. I paint in what is called "Splashing Ink" or "Spontaneous Style", which means that it is more the dance of the brush that leads me on. However, I do still follow a process, so I will be putting in the broad outlines before adding the details. As my teacher Professor I-Hsiung Ju would remind me: put the roof on the house before adding the drapes and furniture! So let's break down this painting's process, step by step:
Since I had no composition in mind, letting this long, bouncy brush (from HMay Art) spring from rock to rock seemed like fun. My paper is a thin, raw xuan so my brush needed to be on the dry side. I loaded it with grey then added ground black ink to the tip of the brush.
Tip: It's always a good idea to keep a scrap of practice paper next to your ink so you can check the color and the amount of moisture on your brush before touching your painting.
Tip: It's always a good idea to keep a scrap of practice paper next to your ink so you can check the color and the amount of moisture on your brush before touching your painting.
Step 1: Black Ink Sketch of Waterfall
Some of the strokes look almost abstract. How about some foreground to help the image to emerge? As soon as I add foreground elements, the waterfall will recede and I will have more sense of depth.
Step 2: Add Foreground Trees & Rocks
Since the waterfall has a diagonal motion, it's good to have the foreground moving on the opposite diagonal, creating a V shape.
Tip: Avoid having anything begin or end right in the corner!
Tip: Avoid having anything begin or end right in the corner!
Step 3: Add People and Railing
Oh look, it's a viewing platform! In that case, I need people. True confession: the child on the right ended up too short, so I added another rock this side of the figure to cover up my mistake, thereby adding another layer of depth. The rock's a bit heavy, but you probably wouldn't have guessed my sneaky save!
Tip: Switch to a smaller brush for figures (I used my Happy Dot brush from OAS). If you're not sure what size to paint the figures, try them out on a separate piece of paper and place it under your painting to see if it looks right. Keep trying until it looks good. If I had followed my own advice, I might not have needed to stick in the rock!
Tip: Switch to a smaller brush for figures (I used my Happy Dot brush from OAS). If you're not sure what size to paint the figures, try them out on a separate piece of paper and place it under your painting to see if it looks right. Keep trying until it looks good. If I had followed my own advice, I might not have needed to stick in the rock!
Step 4: Start Coloring
If you add color lightly, you can always change the hue or the intensity. I added some light trees in the lower left to push the waterfall back a bit. I'll add a bit more detail to these pines later.
Step 5: Mountains Complete the Bones of the Composition
I've added white to the observers' clothes, so that when I add the background misty wash, the figures will stand out more. I've extended the landscape off into the distance, being careful to keep my greys light. If I added black to the mountains I would need to darken everything from that point forward.
Next I need to create the mist, and for this I will take the painting off the easel.
Next I need to create the mist, and for this I will take the painting off the easel.
Step 6: Creating the Mist
This is the painting on a black blanket. I created the background wash by spraying the painting with water and adding color on the backside of the paper. This allows a softer effect for the mist. I used indigo and black ink with a lot of water for this.
Tip: take into account, when you are mixing your color, that it will dry much lighter, especially when added to the back of the paper. Of course, if it is too light after it dries, you can do another wash.
Tip: take into account, when you are mixing your color, that it will dry much lighter, especially when added to the back of the paper. Of course, if it is too light after it dries, you can do another wash.
Step 7: Adding More Contrast to the Distant Trees
The trees and mountains in distance all looked the same shade of grey, so I darkened a few of the trees on the left which makes them look closer and adds more gradation to the depth.
Splitting Hairs!
Sometimes you don't want your brush to come to a point. I decided my pines in the foreground needed more detail, so I added an impression of needles by splaying my Happy Dot brush (OAS) and dipping the tips in pure black. This way I don't have to paint every single needle.
Step 8: Adding Detail to the Foreground Pines
The pine trees are now bushier and more elaborate, which works for trees in the foreground.
Tip: As trees are further away, add less detail.
Tip: As trees are further away, add less detail.
Step 9: Admiring the Waterfall
Admiring the Waterfall: completed painting. It measures 27"x 18" (69 cm x 45 cm).
Did you enjoy seeing how it developed? Did the breakdown step by step make it easier to understand? Do you have questions? If you painted it, it would turn out differently, and that's the delight of Chinese brush painting - because the composition is a living, breathing thing, your personality, thoughts and emotions will imbue the painting with your magic. Why not give it a try? You can follow along with these photos as you paint. Have fun splashing in the ink!
Did you enjoy seeing how it developed? Did the breakdown step by step make it easier to understand? Do you have questions? If you painted it, it would turn out differently, and that's the delight of Chinese brush painting - because the composition is a living, breathing thing, your personality, thoughts and emotions will imbue the painting with your magic. Why not give it a try? You can follow along with these photos as you paint. Have fun splashing in the ink!
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How did that crane get there? How does a landscape develop? Where do the ideas come from? Have you wondered sometimes just where the image came from? In some centuries, artists were encouraged to 'follow the masters' and not invent their own compositions. Some contemporary Chinese painters start off with a clear plan in mind; others - like myself - allow the story to unfold stroke by stroke.
In most cases, the landscape starts off with trees and rocks, establishing the foreground. Here, I have suggested either a path or a stream with the rocks; I am leaving my options open because I have no composition in mind yet.
With a bouncy brush (Inkston #0503) I am letting my strokes dance on the paper - the rocks are hard and forceful, the trees are vigorous and intertwining. This is the most fun part! I don't have to think too much because I still have plenty of options. One tree has outline leaves, one has green leaves which will get veins added later, and above all arches a sprightly willow.
Aha! The crane has popped in! The way the rocks arrowed down to a V made a natural place for a focal point. I could have continued the path or stream to lead the eye back into the painting, but given the size of the rock on the right that option seemed a bit cramped - options are starting to narrow! Putting the crane there looking towards the front gives another layer of depth to the composition.
Time to color: I'm using Marie's indigo and yellow tubes, and brown and orange chips from Blue Heron Arts. The colors are a little pale at the moment and I will strengthen them when I put a wash on the back of the paper. This is a thin, raw xuan, with a high percentage of Wingceltis bark which allows for a good flow of color, while still maintaining crisp outlines (Inkston Perfect 70 xuan).
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Prof I-Hsiung Ju demonstrates pine trees
The summer before he died, I visited my teacher Master Painter I-Hsiung Ju at his home in Princeton, NJ. In this video he is demonstrating pine trees for Charlene Fuhrman-Schulz and Sandy Schatz, long-time students and good friends of the Ju family. The audio is the sound of birds outside my studio.
Tips for painting your own pine trees:
Tips for painting your own pine trees:
- Start with light grey on the brush and paint the main trunks and branches. Keep the brush perpendicular to the paper
- Avoid making the trunks rigidly upright and parallel like soldiers
- Add strong black to the brush and create needle groups above the branches, using the side of the brush
- Add outline strokes to the trunks in black, but without making the lines continuous like a cut-out
- Add small branches to unify the groups of needles in black ink
- Keep your brush pretty dry throughout the painting process
- Don't overwork them!
You can purchase Prof Ju's books and teaching videos at ihsiungju.addr.com
Why not try painting some pine trees now? With courage and a good brush, you can do it!
Why not try painting some pine trees now? With courage and a good brush, you can do it!
Hoodoos & Pine Trees by I-Hsiung Ju (wash added later)
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Ever wonder how a Chinese brush painter creates a landscape? Today I am going to show you how I went from a tree to a misty mountain landscape, with all the moments of panic, optimism and despair along the way! Enjoy the journey!
The Tree that Started it All
Mountain Meditation - completed
Chinese brush painting landscapes are backwards - that is, if you're used to Western painting, where you start with the background and work your way forwards. In Oriental art, you start with what's closest and work your way towards the distance in layers. The start of a painting is often either a rock or a tree in the bottom left or right corner. In this case it was a tree. I sketched the trunk in quickly with Chinese ink and added clumps of greenery using mineral green mixed with gray. It looked like it needed a companion, so I added another tree:
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Landscape by Tereza Mitry
After reading my blog post about the creation of my painting “Wolf Howls at Sundown”, Tereza Mitry was inspired to try her own version, using my composition as her model.
Wolf Howls at Sundown by Virginia Lloyd-Davies
Terry is new to Chinese brush painting and no teachers are available in Egypt where she lives, so she is intuiting her way into a new art technique with the help of the Facebook community and Youtube videos. I am very impressed at how good her eye is and how skilled she is already at handling the rice paper. This is her first big landscape and she is leaping hurdles that would make many students blanch. Her strokes are confident and her waterfall is excellent. Here are the tips I gave her when she asked me for my feedback:
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Are you struggling with too much/too little water on the brush? Wondering when to spray and when to use a dry brush? Water can be your friend or your foe in Chinese brush painting. Because Chinese colors dye the fibre of the rice paper when they are applied, they generally don't run if they are re-wetted after drying. In contrast, Western watercolors on sized watercolor paper will run and shift if rewetted.
One of the obvious benefits to Western watercolors, then, is that you can change elements of your painting if you decide you need to alter your composition. But what if you want to keep your composition just the way it is, but change the overall hue? This is where Chinese brush painting excels. Take a look at this little misty mountain landscape I painted recently, using just tones of black and grey ink.
One of the obvious benefits to Western watercolors, then, is that you can change elements of your painting if you decide you need to alter your composition. But what if you want to keep your composition just the way it is, but change the overall hue? This is where Chinese brush painting excels. Take a look at this little misty mountain landscape I painted recently, using just tones of black and grey ink.
Misty Mountain Landscape
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Step One of a Chinese landscape: well, you have to start somewhere. Some artists plan out an entire composition; others - like me - start with a gesture of the brush. In this case it was the double staircase descending from the right. My thought (if indeed one can categorize it as such) was to avoid the pointy rocks that I had fallen into the habit of painting. You can see how it would be easy to despair at this point: what on earth am I going to do with these brush strokes? They may not be pointy, but they are inarguably parallel - a heresy in Chinese brush painting.
The paper is a thin, raw xuan (unsized rice paper) and I am using a mixture of ground Chinese ink and liquid Chinese ink.
The paper is a thin, raw xuan (unsized rice paper) and I am using a mixture of ground Chinese ink and liquid Chinese ink.
The only answer is to soldier on, trying one's best not to be so judgmental that one becomes paralyzed. I seem to have reverted to some of those pointy rocks, but they seem to blend well with the staircase. A jolly little waterfall has made an appearance and if I'd wanted to, I could have trimmed the paper at this point, added some mist and had an okay Chinese landscape. It's so hard to know when to stop. I carried on.
Tip: your landscape needs to grow in a zig-zag fashion. Avoid horizontal steps up the paper. Go for diagonals in your composition.
Tip: your landscape needs to grow in a zig-zag fashion. Avoid horizontal steps up the paper. Go for diagonals in your composition.