Chinese Brush Painting- How-To Part 5 Starting to Paint

Author: Janis Zroback
Word Count: 554
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Have you bought your brushes, paper and ink?

Then lets get started….

Clear the table of any other materials, junk, old stuff that artists always accumulate, and fold an old blanket in half, and I stress old, as you’re going to use it for Chinese Brush Painting, herein after called CBP, all the time…spread the blanket on the table. It should be about 3/4 in thick.

I use a Chinese felt pad, but there’s no need to get that until you become proficient.

Gather tools together, put on some soft music, turn off the cell or other phones, and sit comfortably…hopefully you’re wearing loose comfortable clothes as well….it’s almost like getting ready to meditate.

You should have your ink stick ready, water and ink stone on one side, brushes on the other and sheets of practice paper nearby…

Add a little water to the ink stone…use a dropper or some from your brush…hold the stick upright…place your index finger on the top of the stick, using your other fingers and thumb to hold the wider sides of the stick.
Start to turn the stick in a clockwise direction….pretty soon the ink will start to change, becoming thicker and oilier…this may take some time, but if you’re listening to your favourite music, and thinking about what you’re going to paint, you won’t notice that ten or even twenty minutes have gone by. If it becomes too dry, add a drop or so of water, and continue to grind until it is very black and has an oily sheen.

Leave the ink on the stone, but start to dilute it by adding small amounts of ink, with your brush, to water in four small containers….you should have mixtures from the blackest black to pale grey. This is the way you get the varying tones of black, that ensure a successful painting…...later on we’ll talk about adding other colours..

Click on the picture to see my ink and container. :

Load the brush….dip your firm brush [having already rinsed out the glue], in the darkest ink and practice making strokes from the thickest to the thinnest…..the tip of the brush should be able to make the finest lines.

If this is your first time trying CBP, get a copy of an old master Chinese painting and try copying it…just the simplest lines, a tree or easy landscape, no animals or birds at this point.
Copying the Masters was the traditional way for Chinese students to learn how to paint and they would spend many years doing this….

Since I can’t show you directly, doing a copy would be the best way for you to get some practice….let me know how you get on, before we go to the next step. Enjoy…..

I can’t guarantee you will become proficient by only reading these posts…this is just an introduction to the genre…if you find after trying that you really love it, look for a class in your area, and join-up. .....Janis