Chinese Painting Techniques

Basic steps
First purchase some equipment- and you can do it gradually. Besides, it is always enjoyable to treat yourself to a “find” in an art or bric-a-brac store. Try to find some reasonable practice paper, preferably grass paper, which is better than using substitutes for Chinese paper (cheaper too!) Cheaper practice papers will also make it more difficult for you to progress to the more absorbent paper. Essential equipment includes an ink stone (about 100mm/4in square, round, or wide) and an ink stick (look for a matte, light stick). Finally, buy two brushes: a fine, firm brush for detail and one other –look for the largest you would feel happy with and buy the next size up. (Most beginners use too small a brush.) If you are in doubt. Look for a soft or mixed-fiber brush with the head about 30-40mm (1.5in) long and 8mm (0.3in) in diameter. You will need to soak the brushes in cold or lukewarm water before use to get rid of the stiffening agent used for protection.

Find an area where you can paint; there most be good light (preferably natural) and a comfortable working height for either standing or sitting. An adjustable chair may help. You should be able to move your arm across the surface without touching it, and with your shoulder held relaxed. The idea is not to lean any part of your brush arm on the table while painting. This position will help you to achieve long, fluid strokes.

Once you have found a suitable spot, set it up by laying out the painting felt or blanket with the paper on top (one sheet at a time or you will have many copies). Place the equipment to the right if you are right-handed, to the left if you are left-handed. This will avoid paint or ink accidentally dropping onto the paper. Add your water pots, pebbles, palette, etc., and your are ready.

Preparing the Paper
This will involve a decision about the size and shape of your painting. Recently, the trend has been for greater use of the square format. Scrolls are now expensive to prepare , and most artists mount their paintings in frames, behind glass.

If the chosen paper is a large sheet (60x120cm/24x48in, or 70x150cm/27x60in), most Chinese artists will divide it into two, three, four, six, or eight pieces. It is sensible to divide the whole sheet at once: painting several works on the same size of paper enables the artists to practice with one amount of space. Find your own preferred scale of painting (this may vary with your mood or the subject), but remember to vary it occasionally-you may be surprised!

The finish of some papers sometimes varies slightly between the two sides. The smooth side is suitable for most work, especially flowers and fruit ( as the brush will move more smoothly over the paper), and the rough side for landscape, freestyle figures and fluffy animals (the ink and paint will spread more readily on this side). When starting, choose a practice paper such as grass paper. Later, progress to xuan paper.

Grinding the ink
Traditionally, this is a restful, thoughtful time, while the artist considers the composition of the work. With a brush, salt spoon, or water dropper, add a small amount of water to the flat surface of the ink stone. A teaspoonful of ink will take about 200 revolutions to get to black-so do not add too much. Hold the stick upright, with your index finger on the top and other fingers and thumb to each of the wide sides. Gently move the stick in a clockwise direction and watch how the ink changes. It will become oily-looking, and later should have some dry patches on the stone. This is the sign that it is reaching ‘burned ink “- dry, black ink. Various shades can be made by diluting the black ink with water. Grind the ink to black to release all the resin; as water is added, the resin is diluted. By controlling the “wet and dry” qualities, as well as the “shades,” “colors of ink” (burned, thick, heavy, pale, and clear) can be developed. Practice this dilution, as the variation of ink tones will enhance your work.

Brush Loading and Control
Try not to twist the brush when loading it, especially if you are a watercolorist, as this will make the natural fibers open out and the brush will be less controllable (think of your brush as similar to your own hair). If the ink stone, water pot, and palette all have defined edges, use them to wipe excess ink off the brush. There will probably be some liquid inside the hollow bamboo handle. To control the ink, use a paper tissue or rag to remove the excess from the heel of the brush rather than the tip. It will help to have a piece of cloth or paper tissue by the side of the palette to dry the brush after rinsing, or to adjust the liquid level, moving the brush in one direction.

Chinese brush painting is often admired because very few strokes are used to depict a scene or a subject, while at the same time showing the ‘essence” or “spirit” of it. Therefore, each mark made with the brush is important. The space left on the paper is also important.

The first stroke
1 Use the first strokes to obtain an idea of the pressure, speed, and control necessary to produce the effect you want. Initially, try to imagine the brush as a pendulum-use a dry brush and gently touch the paper at the bottom of the swing. Load your brush with ink and repeat the stroke. You should have a bamboo leaf! Stroke the bush in different directions, both toward you and away, to the left and the right. Remember to keep your arm clear of the table surface, but make sure that your shoulder is relaxed, not held stiffly. Next, repeat the action, but lift the brush vertically up from the paper and notice that the end of the stroke is rounded. If you lower the brush onto the paper vertically and then complete the “pendulum,” you will have a “nailhead “stroke. Whichever stroke you carry out, try to do it in a flowing movement, without hesitation. Carry out the stroke slowly, and then repeat it quickly, and see the difference. If you find the liquid is insufficient in your brush during a stroke, slow down, and hopefully you will be able to complete the stroke. Experiment on different papers. If you find one too absorbent, make the stroke quicker or lighter, or leave that particular paper until you have more experience.

2 Try using the ink very wet and painting a soft, rounded shape. Next wipe the brush on the ink stone or palette, then use a tissue or cloth to adjust the amount of liquid. Think of a gnarled, twisted branch and push your brush along it. Notice how there are white lines in the strokes when it is really dry. This is called “flying white.” Look back at the rounded, wet shape and notice how far the ink has spread, and how fuzzy the edges are.

3 once you have practiced some of these strokes, you will be ready to place them together, initially to create leaves and petals of two strokes and then to create other subjects. You will also be ready to introduce color.

Color Loading
Color adds a great deal of interest to a painting. Load a main color onto the brush and then tip it with a darker color, or load three or four colors one after the other. As with most things, do not overdo this or the effect will be “muddy.” Use a palette or a white wall tile to mix and blend the colors in the brush. You will actually obtain more colors than you load, because they will blend together. Try to achieve “large and small” amounts of color- the basic principles still apply.

It is useless carefully to load the brush if you do use it in the correct manner. Avoid making a poor of color in a palette and then using it blandly- a small amount of another color on the tip of the brush will help. When you load the brush tip, make sure that it is placed where it is needed.- in the centre of a flower, for instance, to indicate the trumpetlike structure, or to the point of a petal to give a darker edge to the flower. If you wish to paint a very thick branch, dip the brush in ink and place the tip on the outer edge of the trunk of the tree as the example.

As with all of the mixing and design, too much of something will be as boring as too little. So a little simplicity or plainness will emphasize the ornate. Do not, therefore, use too many colors, or too much variation.

Hints and Tips
If a painting is not going well, and you normally sit to paint, try standing for the next efforts, or vice versa. Or, if you normally use a firm brush, try a softer version. Try a different scale as well. If you do not obtain the results you would like, then change the subject to one that you are more confident with, or if all of these the fail, go and do something else! It is probable that you will succeed next time. Tell yourself “It is not my day for this subject” rather than saying “I cannot do it.”