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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.
- Published on
Welcome to my new Chinese painting blog. My hope is that you will find it interesting enough to ask me questions, make comments and requests. I really am writing it for you, since my thoughts entertain me quite enough without being written down.
Since I have been painting in Chinese brush style for nearly 40 years, the thought of starting a Chinese brush painting blog is mind-boggling. Where on earth do I start? With the first uncontrolled squiggles and blobs executed in 1976? Long gone into the trash! With the sheets of black ink bamboo leaves, or the painfully executed bird beaks and eyes? Used to light fires years ago! With agonized descriptions of books smacked on furniture amid groans of frustration? Long overcome... er, well....no, I lie. I still get frustrated, still groan and shriek. At least I haven't broken any books lately.
So let's jump right in.
Since I have been painting in Chinese brush style for nearly 40 years, the thought of starting a Chinese brush painting blog is mind-boggling. Where on earth do I start? With the first uncontrolled squiggles and blobs executed in 1976? Long gone into the trash! With the sheets of black ink bamboo leaves, or the painfully executed bird beaks and eyes? Used to light fires years ago! With agonized descriptions of books smacked on furniture amid groans of frustration? Long overcome... er, well....no, I lie. I still get frustrated, still groan and shriek. At least I haven't broken any books lately.
So let's jump right in.