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hi luoyan
this is really interesting…you have shared some unique information. i will have a look at this artist’s work.
thank you!
It is a traditional way of depicting rocks – if you have ever seen the method in the Mustard Seed Garden book, that is very useful. Another wonderful book I treasure discusses the 3 faces very well and it is how I learned to think about rocks – I have taken the explanation from this book for you.
Oriental Painting Course
Wang Jia Nan and Cai Xiaoli, with Dawn Young
Think of rocks as having 3 aspects:
1 front part, facing the sun, is dry and rough
2 side, in shadow, is wet/shaded
3 top, is thin.
This gives rocks a 3 dimensional affect. A side brush technique is used, and rocks are given different textures with specific brush techniques. These you can research, as many books like the ones above, give much detail. Good luck!
Hi Raymond,
Thanks, this is exactly the information I needed to understand the use of Su ink. I will give this a try with my best sticks- I would imagine that quality ink sticks are better to make good Su ink with. Thank you!
Hi,
I buy distilled water which is very cheap, and I use it for making glues/pastes as well as for spraying or mixing colours. There are no chemicals in it compared to tap water.
I found misting the paper and weighing it down works very well – and I have ironed it too! For ironing, I mist it very lightly and put a clean towel on top of the painting, then use a dry iron (not steam). Then I weigh the paper down using clean dry paper on top, followed by a board with books or other weights. A sheet of plexiglass is also great because you can see the paper underneath to check it.
Hi,
Yes, using tea is quite lovely for colour. I think the same applies to most natural colours created from organic materials, and I don’t believe one should limit oneself to ‘rules’. I have done a few background washes for effects. It depends on the subject matter. My first attempt came out quite well – because my subject was very simple – just a single character for ‘autumn’, done in a cursive style. So I did a watercolour wash in a typical autumn colour (a warm golden) on the back of the painting using a wide soft brush – the softer the better as it won’t streak – western style brushes can work as well. There is a technique to applying a wash – slow and steady is key, particularly on very thin paper! I mist the paper first so that the whole piece is wet, but not soaking! The secret is that since you are using a watercolour wash, which by its very nature already quite diluted, you don’t need to overwet your paper, which will make it difficult to avoid tearing it. Your brush is also wet prior to starting – and again, just damp. You will further dilute your colour if you use a brush that is soaked in water. I start by carefully and lightly touching the colour down and moving the brush horizontally – and don’t switch movements – i.e., keeping going in the same direction all the way down and try not to wash over an area twice. Avoid ‘layering’ which will make some areas darker or possibly create streaks.
PS I always do a test run first – that way if my colour is wrong, or whatever, I don’t have a bad surprise. For the record, I have torn the paper by going too fast or using too much pressure. But it’s fun, can be really exciting and it’s a great learning experience. Good luck!
Just my opinion:
Coming from a different tradition, I learned that this is very subjective – whether to add text or not really depends on the nature of the painting. Of course at a bare minimum, there is always the artist’s seal and/or name, but whether to add calligraphy in the form of a poem or dedication is connected to the intent of the painting. Also, and most importantly, we are always working with yohaku, or white space – which is part of the painting and must be in harmony with the whole. It has been said that ‘the unpainted part is the most difficult’. I believe that to be true. I have one painting that I want to add some calligraphy to, but have yet to decide on style. This one is a personal expression so my text will be in the form of a short poem.
