Learning Chinese Painting Step By Step (http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Gallery/9679/lesson1.html)

Lesson 1 The Preparation

1. Preparation For Painting The student must first get acquainted with brush, ink stick or ink, inkstone, paper and color. Brush The Chinese brush is itself an important part of the act of painting, both in its strength and in its flexibility. When brand-new it seems stiff and hard but after a brief soaking in water it becomes soft and flexible, coming to a fine point when drawn out of the water or ink. There are two kinds of brushes, one being softer than the other. The soft hair brushes are mainly made of white colored sheep-hairs which has been often wet and redried so that the curl is gone but the fibres are strong yet flexible, and the others are of deer or fox sable fibres, which have resilience. From the wide range of brushes to be found, choose perhaps three at first and later six or seven, from a fine one for line work to one large enough for leaves and branches. If the Chinese brushes are not available, watercolor sable brushes are suitable for practice work. The more resiliant the brush hair the better for Chinese painting.

Chinese brushes

Ink Stick Ink sticks are of three kinds. One is made of tung-oil soot, the second of resin soot while the third of lacquer soot. Those made of tung-oil soot are most appropriate Black and rich in lustre, they can be graded into different shades in use. The resin soot ones are jet black, but they are not ideal for painting, because of their want of lustre, except for some special cases in delineating black fowls and beetles. Lacquer soot ink sticks are most lustrous, and suitable for depicting the pupil of the eye. Student may use Chinese ink instead of ink stick and inkstone, if both of the ink stick an inkstone are not available..

Ink stick

Inkstone

Paper There are many qualities, names, and sizes of rice paper. Nost of the best now available is made from rice plant fibre, sometimes combined with cotton; and some good papers are made from hemp. Chinese painting may be done either on paper or silk. Of paper the most commonly used is called "Xiuan" paper, the best of which is made of sandalwood bark. The other is called "Mian" paper. Both of the papers are of two different types, one is absorbent, on which the ink or color diffuses as the brush stroke is laid. The other is non-absorbent or water-proof paper. If the papers are not available, any absorbent paper you can find is suitable for practice work. It may be newsprint, or drawing quality - any unglazed paper at all which produces the effect you want and with which you like to work.

Color All Chinese painting colours are water color. There are commomnly used for washes and tinting purposes after ink has first been applied in the painting. The commonly used colors are: Gamboge Yellow Prussian Blue Vermilion Red Crimson Red Burnt Sienna Titanium White

Chinese painting colors

Lesson 2 The Preliminary Technical Studies

2. Preliminary Technical Studies To do Chinese painting student needs to learn some technical terms and some preliminary studies of the technique of using the brush. Holding the brush You must hold the brush perpendicular to the paper. In doing a large painting the wrist and the elbow are raised above the paper, while doing a small painting one may rest the wrist lightly on the table as shown in the diagram.

For small painting, rest the wrist lightly on the table

For large painting, the wrist and elbow are raised above the paper

The vertical stroke technique To employ the vertical stroke, the student must hold the brush steady and erect, with the core always at the middle of the brushstroke. It is generally used for defining outline or executing dots and flips.

Hold the brush steady and erect with the core always at the middle of the brushstroke

The slanted-stroke technique The slanted-stroke is employed when the handle of the brush slants on one side and the brush-point lies on the brim of the brush-stroke. It is generally used for the technique for wrinkling, daubing and washing. The core and the side of the brush, however, are jointly used in most cases to express the nature and form of various subjects.

Hold the brush and let the handle of the brush slants on one side and the brush-point lies on the brim of the brush-stroke

Big slanted-stroke can be applied by holding the handle farther more from the brush

Putting down, closing up, lifting, pressing and breaking Putting down the brushstroke on the paper requires technique as well as closing up It may be light or heavy. In drawing a line the painter may half-lift the brush with only the tip touching the

paper to make a swift and thin line. He may, as the nature of the subject requires, press the tip of the brush on the paper to make a thick, heavy line. In some other cases he stops a moment and changes the direction of the line, to make a break in the brush-stroke. A line therefore, may look smooth or rugged or may even leave out some blank spaces in it, deliberately made by not dipping enough ink in the brush-tip. Various brush-strokes suggest different texture of the subjects.

Drawing a branch with putting down, dragged, pressed, pushed, lifted and halted brush-strokes

Directing, Dragging and pushing The painter directs his brush to draw a line at his discretion from left to right, from top to bottom, or vice versa. He may drag the brush-tip to go ahead like pulling a string or push it foreward like moving a stone. Different ways of using the brush call for different qualities of the brushstrokes, e.g. lightness, weight, fullness, tenacity, ruggedness, and gracefulness. Student must learn to observe the various qualities of the brushstroke.

The dragged-stroke

The pushed-stroke

The contour method A small pointed brush is employed in doing the contour method. Though thinly drawn, the tenacious lines do not only delineate the contour of things, but also suggest texture, anatomy or structure. The contour method may be applied before or after colour washes.

To draw a flower with the contour method

The non-outlining method The non-outlining method is to express forms and structures with soggy brushstrokes without employing contour outlinings. First soak the brush with water, and then dip the tip of the brush into ink. Now paint a brushstroke on the paper and at once there is gradation of shade in it owing to the intermingling of water and ink. The right gradation of shades can be adjusted by soaking the brush with water and ink to the correct proportion, and the length and rhythm of the stroke can be achieved by the dextrous manipulation of the brush..

Non-outlining method

To draw a flower with only the brush-stroke

Lesson 3 The Way Of Using Ink

The Shades Of Ink Ink when diluted with water, can be graded into many different shades. The ancients say " There are five shades of ink." The five shades refer to charred, very dark, dark, light and very light. Of course there may be still many tonal variations in each shade.

Sear, Soggy,and Wet Ink Ink, when duly applied to absorbent paper, may look sear, soggy or wet by dexterously controlling the water content in the brush. Soak the brush with water, lick the brush tip upon the brim of the water tumbler to let surplus again blot off excess moisture in the brush tip. Make the brush very dry if you want to do a sear stroke, more water is added to do a soggy stroke and ample water for a wet stroke.

Ink Washed Use a clean saucer with some water. Stir your inky brush in it. Stir until the wash is entirely smooth. Add a little ink or water as necessary to make the right ink color. Apply it to a fixed area in the painting. Each application may differ in shade if it is required. Use quick strokes so that the wash will not spread too much on the absordent paper. Try a few times and you will become more adept as you go along.

Basic Techniques In Using Ink In using the ink, below are some of the basic techniques :

1. Light Ink Technique

Variation of tones is usually acheived by the application of light ink, not the dark ink.

The beauty of ink painting lies in the mystery of this gentle lightness when used appropriately.

2. Dark Ink Technique

Dark ink has been the easiest in expressing the essence of ink painting,

and for a sense of boldness and vigor that it can evoke.

3. Dry Ink Technique

The quality of the dry ink is the down right crisp, clear feeling that it can evoke.

The dry ink used, be it dark of light, must have very little water, hence the brush is easy to open up, causing the lines dry and ' hairy'.

Such effect creates a sence of tenacity and prolonged energy.

4. Splash Ink Technique

Having the brush dipped for different tone of ink in great quantity,

and then paint freely as though in a splashing manner.

5. Broken-Ink Technique Before the first application of ink dries,

add on different tone of ink to ' break-into ' the first layer of ink. It is like wet-into-wet technique that the ink

on the paper can create endless variation. Below are some of the techniques :

(a) Light into dark

Apply dark ink first, and light ink to break into it later.

(b) Dark into light

Apply light ink first, and dark ink later

(c)

Water into ink

Apply any ink first, and water later

(d) Ink into water

Wet paper first, add ink later

(e) Color into ink

Apply ink first, and color later

(f) Ink into color

Apply color first, and ink later

6. Dip-in ink technique

When the brush is full of light ink, dip for a little bit of very dark ink from the ink-well and paint

immediately. The stroke will show either:

a strong line with light tone following its two sides, or a line with one side of it darker.

This creates three dimensionlity and moisturised effect, a technique best for expressing subject matters such as

flowers, orchids or bamboo,and etc. It is very effective when depicting branches, leaves, and petals.

7. Accumulation of ink techque

Various applications of different tones, either from light to dark, or from dark to light.

But the previous tone must be dry before any new application. Such accumulation-of-ink in many layers is mostly used for landscape painting for clouds,

mountains, sea etc.. It creates a good body on the painting that evokes weight and substantiality.

Lesson 4 Practice Line Drawing

In Chinese painting, the brushwork is the vital vehicle to carry out the represenation of the 'spirit' of the living things. There are various forms of brushwork in Chinese painting. Each form displays peculiar quality and dynamics of the strokes and the interplay of ink and water. It is important to manipulate appropriate brushwork for the subject. Whatever kind of brushwork it is, the main point is the vitality of the line. Therefore students must master the following basic before they go for the next step.

A small pointed brush is employed in doing the contour method.

Practice 1 - Line Basic 1

First soak the brush with light ink, and then dip the tip of the brush into dark ink.

Hold the brush steady and erect, perpendicular to the paper, press the brush for a while, drag a straight line to the end, halt and press, then lift it up.

Practice 2 - Line Basic 2

Hold the brush steady and erect, perpendicular to the paper, drop and press then drag a stright line and lift it up slowly

.

Practice 3 - Line Basic 3

Hold the brush steady and erect, perpendicular to the paper,

drop and press then turn and drag a line freely by lifting it up slowly at the end.

Practice 4 - Line Basic 4

Hold the brush steady and erect, perpendicular to the paper,

drop and press then turn and drag to the end, halt and press then lift it up slowly.

Practice 5 - Line Basic 5

Hold the brush steady and erect, perpendicular to the paper,

drag the brush and drop it slowing to the paper, press a little and lift it up slowly.

The illustrations show in practice 6 and practice 7 below are using lines drawing method from

practice 1 to 5 Follow the steps and practice the leaf and flower and learn to observe the various quality of the

contours. Different ways of using the line call for different qualities of the contour and give more vitality to the drawing, because the tenacious lines do not only delineate the contour of things,

but also suggest texture, anatomy or structure of the object.

Practice 6 - Drawing a leaf step by step

Step 1 Hold the brush steady and erect, perpendicular to the paper,

drop and press then drag a stright line and lift it up slowly (Basic 1 or 2 ) to draw the main vein of the leaf.

Step 2 Hold the brush steady and erect, perpendicular to the paper, drop and press then turn and drag to the end, halt and press then lift it up slowly to draw the left portion of the leaf. (Basic 4 and 3)

Step 3 Hold the brush steady and erect, perpendicular to the paper, press then turn and drag to the end, halt and press then lift it up slowly to draw the right portion of the leaf, then use Basic 5 to draw the fold contour of the leaf.

Step 4 Hold the brush steady and erect, perpendicular to the paper, press the brush for a while, drag a straight line to the end, halt and press, then lift it up to draw the stem of the leaf.(Basic 1)

Step 5 Hold the brush steady and erect, perpendicular to the paper, drop and press then turn and drag a line freely by lifting it up slowly at the end to draw the veins of the leaf. (Basic 2 or 3)

Practice 7 - Drawing a lotus step by step

The petals of the lotus are using all the techniques from basic 1 - 5.

The "Contours Technique" Exercises

Follow the steps that learned from previous lessons, practice the following drawings given below by using the contour methods: pressed, lifted, halted pushed, dragged etc.....(refer to

lesson 4 or the previous-mentioned technical terms when necessary) Practice serveral time until you master it before going to the non-outlining technique.

It is the best piece advice, however, when manipulating the brush, do not only move the fingers, but the whole arm as this will give more vitality to the contour. To achieve the above mentioned techniques depends entirely on

the student's skill to master the variations, the control of the brush, water and ink.

Exercise 1

Leaves 1

Leaves 2

Leaves 3

Leaves 4

Exercise 2

Flowers

Flower 1

Flowers 2 - Mallow

Flowers 3 - Habiscus

Exercise 3 - Flowers and Leaves

1 - Narcissus

2 - Lotus

3 - Camellia

4 - Dandelion

5 Others

Lesson 5 The Way Of Using Color

1 Color washes Draw the contour of object in light ink first. Apply color washes within the contour. Mix up color with water in the saucer and stir with the brush. Color or water may be added to attain the right shade. One application may different from the other in color and shade according to the subject you paint.

Layer of colors or water may be added to attain the shade or tone

2 Wet underpainting, layers of color, rubbings in color Wet underpainting is applied when ink-drawing is dry. Wet the paper first with water. In most cases this is done bigger areas such as water and sky. Absorb excess moisture from the painting paper with another piece of absorbent paper. Apply color on the wet-underpainting. Use another clean brush to smooth the painting strokes if required.

A picture can be painted with a few layers of color. Second layer of color may be applied to a color-underpainting which is dry. Still another layer may be added if you see fit. Wonderful color effect may be attained in this way.

Rubbing is done with a dry brush using the brush-side technique. It is best used for description of feathers.

3 Color mixing Two or three colors can be mixed together to produce another tint. It is common knowledge that Gamboge and Indigo make green, Crimson Lake and Indigo make purple....... To mix colors, stir well two or three colors in a saucer with water. In many cases it is more desirable to let two or three colors blend naturally on the paper. It is also common practice in Chinese painting, however, to acheive well blended colors in one single stroke by soaking different colors in succession with the brush.

First soak the brush with one color and then with another. For example, soak the brush with diluted Gamboge first and then dip the brush into Vermilion; first with indigo and then with ink; or first with Vermilion and then Crimson Lake. To paint a petal in this method, the brush is first soaked with White and then dip the tip of the brush into Crimson Lake or other color. The colors so painted will look fresh and delightful.

4 Color harmony All the colors in a painting must be brought into a harmonious state. Therefore, one or two colors must be dominating while other colors are subordinate. Either make the dominating colors striking, or if they be subtle colors, let them color bigger space in the picture composition.

Colors, like ink, may be applied dry or wet, in one single layer or in a few layers, to produce different effects.

Lesson 6 The Technique OF Flower Painting

A twig of flower includes flower, leaf and stem. To paint a flower, observe the form of the flower first, then the position, the color and the relation of one flower to the other.

The flower does not stand alone, and in most cases it is accompanied by leaves or other twigs.

The leaves dangle in the air, and even a gentle breeze may stir a thick foliage. So leaves often add movement to a flower-piece and enliven the whole picture.

The herbs and the shrubs There are herbs and shrubs, the herbs are having weaker stems while the shrubs looking stronger and straighter.

To compose a flower-piece first arrange the main branches and then add the minor twigs.

Usually there are three methods of arranging the branches, i.e. Pointing up, pointing down, and pointing sidewise

To paint a flower piece, generally do the flowers and leaves first, and then the stem. Add the veins of the leaves and dot the flower-buds later on.

To paint a shurb, however, you may do the stems and branches first and then flowers and leaves.

When painting the flowers, watch for the arrangement to vividly capture the delicate oscillation of the petals.

The Elaborate Style and Spontaneous Style

Different style of painting may adopt different techniques. For example, to paint in the " Elaborate Style " use the contour technique, while the non-outlining technique is applied in the " Spontaneous Style ".

Elaborate Style Spontaneous Style

Use both of the contour technique and the non-outlining technique in the " combination style ". Some painters who prefer " Elaborate Style " may only use lines to suggest form and texture, and others paint in the " Spontaneous Style " who apply bold brushstrokes freely to express rhythmc beauty.

The Flowers are using the Contour technique, while the stems and leaves are using the Non-outline technique

Lesson 7 The Elaborate Style - Outline and Coloration technique

" Elaborate Style " may only use lines to suggest form and texture.

Method 1

Step 1

Using non-absorbent paper, outline the leaf and flower with light ink.

Step 2

Wash the petals of the flower and leaves with light ink first, if the flower is dark in color Dip the brush with light ink, paint the petal and leaf one by one outwardly, then wash the ink

with water to the fringe of the flower and leaves in order to produce different shades.

Step 3

Dip the brush with Vermilion, paint the petals of the flower with flat wash. use another brush, dip the brush with light green, paint the leaves with flat wash

Step 4

When the color dry, dip the brush with Crimson Red, paint the petals of the flower outwardly and wash it with water to the fringe of the petals.

Dip the brush with blue green, paint the leaf outwardly and wash with water to the fringe of the leaf

Method 2

Step 1

Using non-absorbent paper, outline the leaf and flower with light ink.

Step 2

Dip the brush first with water, then with light green, and a speck of dark green onto the tip, to paint the leaf outwardly from the main vein.

Use another brush, dip the brush first with water, then with violet light, and a speck of voilet dark onto the tip, to paint the petals inwardly from fringe of the petal to make the tones fused

smoothly and spontaneously.

Step 3

Dip the brush with dark green, paint the leaf outwardly from the main vein, then wash the color with water to the fringe of the leaf

Dip the brush with violet medium, paint the petal inwardly from the fringe of the petal and wash the color with water to the center

Step 4

Dip the brush with light green and paint the leaf with a flat wash and dip the brush with violet light and paint the petal with a flat wash

Exercise

Refer to the techniques above, Using non-absorbent paper draw and paint the following pictures :

The Elaborate Style Exercises

Using non-absorbent paper, outline the leaf and flower with light ink.

then follow the steps that learned from previous lessons, practice the following paintings given below by using the contour and coloring techniques:.....(refer to lesson 6 or the previous-

mentioned technical terms when necessary) Practice serveral time until you master it before going to the Spontaneous Stlye non-outlining technique.

To achieve the above mentioned techniques depends entirely on

the student's skill to master the variations, the control of the brush, water and color.

Exercise 1 Leaves 1

Leaves 2

Leaves 3

Leaves 4

Exercise 2

Flower 1

Flowers 2 - Mallow

Flowers 3- Habiscus

Exercise 3 - Flowers and Leaves

1 - Narcissus

2 - Lotus

3 - Camellia

5 Others