Oriental Art Supply Chinese Brush Painting Supplies
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Colors
What is the difference between Dr. Martin’s Bleed-Proof White and Pelikan’s White?
Dr. Martin’s Bleed-Proof White is an intensely bright white watercolor used for accents in paintings (such as the pollen center of flowers). This white is formulated to stand beautifully on its own and is not intended for mixing because it tends to separate from the colors it is added to. Pelikan’s White is a less brilliant white watercolor that is formulated to blend well with other colors (to achieve pastels and other color shades). Pelikan’s superb blendability makes it a dream for any brush painter. Fine-line artists love the smoothness of Pelikan’s White and use it for coverage.
In some of the instructional material on Chinese Brush Painting and Sumi-e they reference a powder white? What is this and does OAS carry this powder?
Artists, especially those of the Ling-nan School, had to mix their own white from powder pigment and animal glue. While this method provided a usable white, it could not provide a white with the smoothness and blendability of Pelikan’s White or the brilliance and stability of Dr. Martin’s. Alas, artists were left with an undesirable pasty appearance. OAS proudly carries both brands of white to fulfill the varying needs of the brush painter.
What are Chinese Chip Colors and why are they used as opposed to tube watercolors?
Chinese Chip Colors are dry transparent pigment pieces/chips. They produce the best colors on rice paper. Often tube watercolors contain chemicals that react negatively to the rice paper resulting in a grainy appearance, or even worse - color separation.
What is the correct way to prepare Chinese Chunk Yellow?
A. Chinese Chunk Yellow generally comes in rock formation so it takes time for the color to dissolve properly. Use a small 1-1/2” diameter jar with a screw tight lid to prepare and store the color (OAS recommends catalog item GS400 or GS404). Submerge the Yellow Chunk(s) in the jar so that ½ the surface is covered by water. Allow them to soak for a few hours or until the chunk(s) become soft like clay. To finish, slowly pour the yellow into a dish stopping as soon as the liquid shows impurities; discard the remaining liquid.
How do I make the intense green I see in so many Chinese paintings?
The most beautiful green is a mixture of Chinese Chip Indigo and Chinese Chunk Yellow. Pour some of your prepared Chunk Yellow into a dish. In a separate dish fine mist spray your indigo chip color until moist and sticking to one another. Using an inexpensive bristle or paint brush, add indigo to your yellow until the desired color is achieved. Tip: When marrying colors, always add dark to light instead of the reverse as this helps avoid color contamination.
What kind of container is best for my chip colors?
Some artists use watercolor palates or flower plates of ceramic, porcelain or plastic. However we find that this kind of container is not conducive to easy clean up or good storage. The flower plate is great and really best suited for blending additional color combinations; it is a great space saver. OAS recommends CW30 a 5-piece stackable porcelain dish sets for the preparation and storage of chip color. The colors keep well in these compact lightweight containers and when it comes time to clean the porcelain lets the colors rinse right out.
How do I prepare my Chinese Chip Colors?
Empty the contents of your color packet into a dish. Each color will need its own separate dish. Using a fine mist spray bottle wet your chips until they begin to melt and stick to one another and the dish.
Do Chinese Chip Colors ever go bad?
If exposed to air for extended periods of time or if exposed to air borne contaminates such as dirt or dust, the chips can turn. Generally the shelf life once moistened is 3-4 months. If you notice your colors looking dull or leaving a hard edge on your paper, discard those chips, cleanse the dish they were in, and prepare new chips to work with.
I have a lot of practice work that I like but would not go to the trouble of mounting. However, I hesitate to just throw it away. Do you have any ideas about what I can do with my practice work?
Yes! Make use of all that hard work. You can use your desirable practice work to make pretty handmade cards. Single flowers work particularly well for this kind of project. Cut around the subject in a way that is appealing to you and that will fit on a card size of your choice. We think it looks particularly nice to leave enough room for the card underneath to show, creating a border; either even on all sides or off-set with a larger margin on the bottom, whatever looks good to you. Cover the entire back of the rice paper painting with glue (we like clear-drying glue sticks) and starting on an edge or corner, roll and press the rice paper painting carefully onto the card. If further pressing is required to smooth the surface simply cover the card with a piece of scrap paper and roll over with a cylinder (e.g. rolling pin, jar). Place under a heavy book to dry and flatten. Once dry, you may wish to accentuate your card design with hand ornamentation and/or paper effects. We sometimes like to decorate the edges of our cards with a thin gold or silver line in metallic paint pen, or spatter the card with other color(s), or go over the card with light washes of color, metallic color, gold, silver, sparkles, et cetera. The possibilities are unlimited! Be sure to sign your work and use a seal (maybe expressing a mood, wish or idea) to finish your composition. OAS sells lovely card & envelope sets that closely match the color of our raw Shuen papers. They come in sets of 10 cards/10 envelopes, and are approximately 7-1/4” x 5-1/4” unfolded (OAS Catalog Item POC). We often use these cards to send special greetings to our friends and families.
Which of your supplies work best for calligraphy?
A. The best material choices for calligraphy are the Flow Brushes, Orchid Bamboo Brushes, Flower & Bird Brush, any of the inks we carry especially Best Bottle. The best papers for calligraphy are Practice Roll, Best Shuen and Double Shuen AO. For print style calligraphy we use the Flower & Bird Brush or any of the Flow Brushes. For grass style calligraphy the Orchid Bamboo Brushes work best. Add a touch of elegance and style to any special occasion calligraphy by mixing Pelikan’s Gold or Silver cake pan colors in with the ink.
What are the Pelikan Gold and Silver used for?
What are the differences between all the bottle inks that you carry?
Best Bottle Ink is the only artist quality ink. This ink surpasses some of the ground ink in its richness, transparency and smoothness. It is stable and permanent. In other words whatever you pour out, you will need to use. Once it dries, it is difficult to reconstitute with water. While the others in our inventory offer a more economical way to use ink. The ink is not stable. Therefore, you can reconstitute it with a wet brush. Due to the lack of stability some inks may tend to bleed a little more so during the wet mounting process of finished works.
What's the difference between Maries Watercolor Set in tubes than working with the chip colors?
Chip colors produce the best colors on rice paper, and most economical because they last a long time. When the color dries just rewet with a fine mist spray and use as needed. Maries watercolor set are favored by some instructors as a good starter set because of all the colors that are included. Maries watercolors are economically priced. However, they tend to have a short shelf life if not used. Sometimes the colors harden inside the tube and are difficult to squeeze out. Also some master artists have reported that they lack in quality because of their lightfastness.
I have looked everywhere and cannot find some of the colors Ning Yeh uses in his lesson plans? Do you carry any of these colors?
Yes, we do carry a majority of the Western Watercolors Ning Yeh uses in his lesson plans. Unfortunately, through years some of the colors have been either reformulated and therefore renamed or have been discontinued. Feel free to contact OAS via e-mail for any questions you may have.
Why does Ning Yeh uses Winsor Newton Artist Watercolors?
Ning Yeh has tested and used all sorts of different Western Watercolors. He has found that the Winsor Newton Artist Colors and Pelikan's White has proven to work best with blending and showing color variation with the Chinese Chip Colors.
One of my classmates has a gorgeous ink slate that they said they got from you, but I cannot find it on your online catalog or your print catalog?
OAS carries a collection of uniquely carved ink slates. Contact OAS for availability and pricing.
How come OAS does not carry the larger tubes of Maries Watercolor Set?
In many cases, most students are using Maries Watercolors as a start off point, therefore the small set is sufficient. Also, if you are not painting or practicing frequently the colors tend to dry inside the tube and therefore making it very difficult to use.