by Mei Ruo (Author)
Try your hands at these historically and culturally important methods, and create some beautiful paintings of your own.
Chinese
painting is an ancient art that has evolved and become refined over
many centuries. Artists brush ink and color pigments onto silk or paper
using a variety of techniques, with two main approaches: gongbi a traditional and realistic style based on line drawing, and xieyi style, a freehand method that uses fewer strokes to suggest objects in a less literal way.
Painting
themes generally fall into three categories: figure, landscaping, and
bird-and-flower. Chinese brush painting is mainly presented in lines,
shades and white space to express the feelings about nature, social
phenomena, and the very essence of the universe. The framework for this
expression is often traditional: certain subjects carry cultural
connotations that are well-known and imbue the painting with a layer of
meaning beyond face value of objects shown. The traditional subjects
such as mandarin ducks, butterflies, and the 'Four Gentlemen' (plum
blossoms, orchids, bamboos, and chrysanthemum) are examples that contain
this rich cultural meaning.
Readers will learn first about the
tools and materials, then painting techniques. Early pages explore the
very basic painting methods and subjects—perfect for beginning
painters—but continue to build skills for painting plants and animals of
increasing complexity.
Chinese Brush Painting illustrates
several Chinese brush painting techniques with the use of different
tools, brushwork and color mixing. With the step-by-step projects, you
can first follow the introductory lessons to learn the necessary skills
of brushwork, usage of paper, and characteristics of water, ink and
colors; then follow the advanced lessons to learn the compositions and
more complicated color applications.
