Chinese Bird Painting

Birds

Birds are rarely painted by themselves. They sit on the branch of a tree, pause near a flower or rest at the side of a watery pool. They help give life and movement, albeit gentle, to the calm, unruffled serenity of the traditional Chinese flower and blossom paintings. They also refer symbolically to character traits or imply unstated associations. A crane suggests longevity (the Chinese believe that the bird lives to 1,000 years of age), so for an old man’s birthday, a crane under a pine tree is considered lucky. Mandarin ducks and swallows often occur in pairs – ducks on a water lily pool or swallows among willow trees mean happy matrimony. Ten magpies are a very lucky omen and usually appear in large official celebratory paintings. The chart on page 88 give some idea o the symbolism attached to the birds which feature most often in Chinese painting.

Painting Birds

The Chinese say ‘To paint a bird, do not go away from the form of an egg’. A bird begins life in the egg and that is also the basic body shape. Two egg-shaped ovals provide the framework for the bird.

The preceding pictures give the general body shape and format. However, when starting to paint the bird there is an accepted Chinese order of painting which has to be followed. Since the bird must first be able to eat and then to see, the first part of the bird to paint is the bill. Next, paint the eye that is near the roof of the bill.

Although, occasionally, the eye can be painted before the break, the eyes and beak are always painted before the body of the bird. Following the beak and the eyes, the head should be completed, then the bird’s back, wing feathers, breast feathers, tail, legs and feet.

The two diagrams explain the order for both the ‘brush-line’ and ‘solid-stroke’ methods of painting birds. The bird can then be placed on a branch or in a tree as appropriate. Both methods use a fine brush for the break, eyes and claws.

Birds give life to a painting of a rather static branch, or tree, and can, therefore, be painted in rather quiet, indistinct way. Alternatively, the bird can form the main element of the painting and, as such, will be required to demonstrate rather more of its own character. Some painters are expert in the art of depicting two or more birds in natural interaction in a fine and detailed manner, while Chai Pai Shih could convey the fluffiness of a baby chicken with three wet brush strokes.

As with all other subjects in traditional Chinese Painting, it is necessary to observe and enjoy birds in their natural habitat until a clear picture can be retained in the mind, before attempting to commit brush to paper. This observation of nature is a pleasure in itself and one of the many side benefits to be obtained from the study of this ancient oriental art form.

The Chinese are so enamored of their birds that, like a pet, they take them out for walks, either still in their cages, or perhaps sitting on their shoulder.

Composition

Arrange your flower and bird paintings so that they both look natural. In some places things may appear crowded, in other areas of the picture there may be much open space. According to the ancient Chinese, ‘Where expansiveness is required, let there be room for a trotting horse, where compactness is required, let not a needle pass through’