Chinese Brush Painting (6 page)

Position
#
2:
Hold the brush in position #1 and then turn your hand to the far right so that the brush is pointing left. In this position, you can paint with the whole side of the brush. This position is used for painting bamboo and for large areas of gray color.

If you are left-handed, hold the brush with the left hand in position #1. Rotate the wrist to the left so the tip of the brush points to the right. This is position #2 with the left hand.

Position
#
3:
Hold the brush in position #1 and pull your arm back toward your body so that the brush tip is in front of your hand. This position makes a strong vertical stroke downward.

Position
#
4:
Hold the brush in position #1 and bend your hand forward and under, so the brush goes under your hand. As you push your arm away from your body, the brush makes a vertical stroke upward on the paper.

Position
#
5:
This position is most helpful in painting petals on flowers. Hold the brush in position #1 and turn your hand to the left so the brush hairs are sticking out at the far right. Make the stroke by moving your arm downward toward the body, leaving a wide stroke of paint.

Try each position of the brush. Practice moving your arm to make strokes in each position. Keep the tip of the brush in the center of the stroke. As you practice, you will learn what positions produce which kinds of paint strokes.

Pressure Test

This exercise helps you learn how hard you can press the brush against the paper. Using your finger and arm only, you can train your brain to make better strokes.

1.
Put down the brush. Hold your hand in position #1, bend your wrist forward, and touch your first finger to the paper as if it were a paintbrush.

2.
Move your arm slowly to the right about 5 inches, keeping your finger on the page. Feel the pressure of your finger on the paper. How hard did you press? Could you press more lightly and still feel the paper?

3.
Try again using the same even pressure on the paper, only this time swing your arm smoothly downward.

4.
Practice doing this exercise several times until your brain grasps the feel and motion.

Loading the Brush

The next step is learning to load the brush with paint.

1.
Hold the brush in position #2 so the hairs are flat to the left.

2.
Lay the whole side of the brush into the dish of dark paint and roll the brush with your thumb, forward and back, so that all the hairs pick up the paint.

3.
Scrape the tip of the brush against the edge of the dish. This movement drops off any excess paint that could dribble on your work and spoil it. Get into the habit of doing this every time you load the brush.

Washing the Brush

It is important to wash the brush properly to protect the hairs.

Remember:

Never thump the brush up and down in a container, hitting the bottom! That will break the hairs off the handle.

1.
Swish the brush back and forth in the washing brush container.

2.
Swish the brush again in the rinse water container.

3.
Swish the brush again in clean water so the brush is clean.

Practicing Strokes

Now that you have practiced holding the brush and moving it across the paper, you can start learning to control the paint and your arm movements by doing some simple strokes.

Dilution Grid

In this exercise, you make horizontal and vertical strokes, diluting the paint for each new pair. The goal is to practice smooth, even strokes and learn to make lighter and lighter gray shades.

1.
Anchor a sheet of newsprint with the weights.

2.
Load the brush with the dark mix. Test the shade on the plate to make sure it is very dark.

3.
Hold the brush in position #1 with your hand to the far left of the paper. Swing your arm to the right, making a broad, straight stroke about 5 inches long.

4.
With the same loaded brush and hand position at the far left, touch the top stroke at the left and move your arm downward to make a vertical line about 5 inches long.

5.
To continue this exercise, dip about half the tip of the brush into clean water to dilute the paint slightly.

6.
Go to the far left and make another horizontal stroke under the first one.

7.
Without reloading the brush, make a second vertical stroke next to the first vertical.

8.
Go back to the clean water and put a small amount of water on the brush.

9.
Make a stroke sideways under the two top strokes across the page to the right. Notice how the paint is being diluted each time.

10.
Move your hand to the left and make a stroke downward next to the other verticals.

11.
Go back to the clean water and pick up one brushful to mix with the paint still in the brush.

12.
Start at the left and stroke a line under the others above.

13.
Make another vertical stroke next to the other two.

14.
Continue diluting the paint and make two more sets of strokes to complete a grid.

Now that you have learned horizontal and vertical strokes, you can move on to painting curves. Can you swing your arm in one direction to make a curve and then swing it in the other direction to make another curve?

Swinging Your Arm

Swinging your arm to make curves can help you to learn to paint orchid leaves and tall grasses. Now it is time to get some
ch’i
energy into the strokes. Before you start a stroke, take a breath, and then let out the breath while making the stroke. As a shortcut, we will use the code “TAB” for “Take A Breath” and the code “LOB” for “Let Out the Breath.” So remember, every time you see our code word “TAB” below, you will Take A Breath, and when you see “LOB” you will Let Out the Breath.

1.
Load a large brush with the dark mix and hold it in position #1.

2.
Think and focus on what you need to do to make a beautiful stroke.

3.
TAB, start at the bottom left of the page, swing your arm upward and to the right, and LOB during the last third of the stroke.

4.
For the second stroke, TAB, start at the bottom to the right of the first stroke, swing your arm up and to the right and downward, and LOB as you taper off the stroke.