Post Your Chinese Brush / Sumi-e Paintings here.

[wabbitt]

Sandra, I LOVE that cat!! I totally agree with Robert's reasons. All that expressed with a single painting.

I'm always happy to see this thread pop up to the top again. Great information exchange between you and Julianne last week.

[gakinme]

Thank you, Robert, Julie for your comments. The simplicity of Chinese painting sometimes kept pulling me back over and over again from color overload (especially in soft pastels). A few strokes and they expressed its essence so well. I have too much to learn.

[robertsloan2]

You've inspired me again, Sandra -- you wanted to see the Lunar Black experiment. Here it is -- I could not help falling into the Chinese painting style with this morning's impulse painting of my cat and I used the sample you sent me. Now it's too tempting for me to get yet another black color -- oh well, I have several blues, reds, greens, yellows, why not? Especially when it responds like this to monochrome Asian style painting!


Scavenger Hunt 174 #4: Curly or Curved
5" x 4 1/2" (without text)
Monochrome "Lunar Black" Daniel Smith watercolor
Strathmore Windpower 140lb cold press watercolor paper

[gakinme]

Beautiful cat, Robert. Really, the essence of Ari in a few strokes. Pls do more even if it is not on rice paper. The Lunar Black fades out on its own that resembles Chinese ink loaded in three parts.

[HarvestMoon]

Love your cat Robert! At some point I hope to get to my new booklet on Sumi-e! I did not buy rice paper though....

[robertsloan2]

Thank you both! I seem to do a lot better with the waterbrush than with anything else, it just works so perfectly for this style.

[gakinme]

Thanks to Ron (rugman) at the Southwest forum for pointing to these free videos called Painting, Drawing Channel from the UK. You got to watch it. It has watercolor this week and Chinese paintings!!

Everyone should take a look. The program changes every Monday!!!

http://www.youtube.com/user/painting.../0/OJXRSTFKdBQ

[briansommers]

it says this channel is private and I can't wathc it.

[robertsloan2]

Try this one: http://www.thepaintinganddrawingchan...uk/prog-2.html

[gakinme]

Tonight, I crunched up the Chinese rice paper and it became a heavily textured paper after I unfolded it and then I slathered ink on it and water all over with my brushes. This is my third piece already because the first two pieces, I wanted to spray and flatten it quickly to show you all but inadvertently tore them. But that's okay, it gave me practice how to position the hills better in my third piece.

Imaginary landscape. If I had time, I would have starched it and flattened it but I ironed it tonight. A no-no in general for Chinese painting.

[robertsloan2]

Sandra, this is fantastic! Such an evocative landscape. The hills are alive, the boat and boatmen are firmly seated in the water, moving on it, the wrinkles in the paper are like the waves or clouds. The wrinkled paper accents the negative space in ways that give sky texture and wave texture, and the shapes of the negative space are vast and elegant.

This is one of your best. I'm in awe of it. Glad you learned from the ones that tore, this technique is fantastic.

[HarvestMoon]

Sandra- that is just gorgeous! I watched Cheng-Khee Chee's DVD about the crinkled paper technique, then looked for the same paper at the local Jerry's, but could not find it....then I forgot about it! But your painting is so stunning I really have to try again to find it! he mounts his in the end....and does not worry about tears, they just glue down to the mounting board. He said nobody will know if it is torn but you unless you tell someone- then if you tell, people will ask for a discount!

[RiJoRi]

"He said nobody will know if it is torn but you unless you tell someone- then if you tell, people will ask for a discount!"

Tell them you charge more for adding unique character -- or a special touch -- to the piece! After all, nobody else could tear the paper in quite the same way!!

--Rich

[robertsloan2]

Rich is right. Repeat after my cat: "I meant to do that."

It goes "I tore the paper to create this unique texture, knowing I'd mount it on the board." It's combining collage technique with Chinese painting.

Or you could get creative and do just that with the torn paintings -- rearrange them together into a collage composition with other painting elements all on the same board...

[gakinme]

Thank you, Rich, Robert, Linda for your comments. Now I'm hesitant to mount it. LOL. Actually, I need to collect a whole bunch paintings before I cook the starch first.

Rich, do you do much Chinese painting too? Post some of your work too.

Linda, Utrecht, Jerry's, ASW all sell sumi paper.