Those who begin the journey into Chinese brush painting and Japanese sumi-e often start with the Four Gentlemen subjects: Plum Blossom, Orchid, Bamboo and Chrysanthemum. Along with calligraphy, these subjects provide a rich training ground for developing the tools to explore all other subjects.

Calligraphy

Master calligrapher Chen Pei-hsin wrote, "Calligraphy and painting share a long, intertwined history. Both forms of art not only utilize the same instruments, but also use the same techniques… [both] arise from the same source and complement each other." She continues to quote China's great Zhao Meng Fu of the Yuan Dynasty, "Painting and writing are fundamentally the same. To paint a rock is to write in the Fei Bai style; to paint a tree is to write in the Zhou style. If you want to paint bamboo, you ought to be familiar with the 'Eight Styles of Calligraphy.'"

The Four Gentlemen

Plum Blossom symbolizes perseverance as it blossoms in winter's harsh weather. Learning the supple strokes of the petals teaches us the dot stroke that is universal in calligraphy and hundreds of other subjects. The dynamic strokes of the branches and trunks will improve your line-work, producing magnificent pine trees and woody plants in landscape paintings and the bone strokes that appear in almost all floral and bird paintings.

Orchid reveals fundamental concepts of composition, developing the knowledge necessary to distribute shapes and space. Practicing the leaves will teach you how to vary the pressure of the brush. Using minimal or no pressure will create a thin stroke, while more pressure will give a stroke more weight. This technique will help you with painting the 'S' stroke for the petals. Mastering orchid will make subjects such as reeds and lilies with thin, long and blade-like strokes easier! With additional pressure and using the side of the brush, the 'S' stroke creates magnificent leaves in many floral subjects.

Bamboo is the most practiced of the Four Gentlemen. The line work is bold, decisive and full of strength. Bamboo exercises the 'bone stroke,' which provides the framework for all painting and calligraphy. Doing leaves reinforces the discipline of brush pressure introduced in the study of the orchid.

Chrysanthemum extends the study of petal shapes, the understanding of a flower's structure and the concept and placement of leaves. Developing a deeper knowledge of these concepts can be applied to all other floral subjects.

Narcissus sprouts in the snow. Photo courtesy of Thomas Laupstad blog.thomaslaupstad.com

Arriving during the cold of winter, the [narcissus] flower symbolizes the hope of the approaching spring.

Narcissus -
The Fifth Gentleman?

The New Year has brought our family extra time to write, paint and study. During this time, my mother came across a set of hand bound brush painting books published in Japan in the 1950s. While traveling the world as a sailor, her father purchased them for his own self discovery and made sure that before he passed away, they were in her possession.

Chapters dedicated to painting claim the narcissus as the fifth gentleman in the study of Chinese brush painting and sumi-e. An excerpt in Japanese Kanji reminisces, "We usually wrap a piece of red rice paper about one inch around the plant right above the bulbs since the red in Chinese culture means 'to bring luck.' The flowers have a very delightful fragrance and in the deep cold weather time it brings such cheerful energy." Arriving during the cold of winter, the flower symbolizes the hope of the approaching spring. In this way, the narcissus is a flower that harmonizes the spirit of the winter plum and the spring orchid.

Learn how to paint Narcissus with WS8074 "Painting Narcissus the Water Fairy" Booklet by Ning Yeh

Narcissus or Shuei Shian ("Water Fairy" ) is said to represent the spirit of Lady Cheng Fei. Cheng Fei was a beauty noted for her literary talent during the fading era of the Han Dynasty (206 B.C. to 220 A.D.). She is the subject of a famous poem later known as "A Song of the Water Fairy."

The narcissus offers a suitable progression and scaling of concepts introduced through the study of the Four Gentlemen. The leaves are long, exhibiting similar turning and lilting like the leaves of the orchid but they are larger and more upright. Each flower has a central bowl or trumpet that is reminiscent of a plum blossom. This bowl is also surrounded by larger petals which can be rendered with the 'S' curve stroke developed during studies of the orchid flower and chrysanthemum petals. The depicting of chrysanthemum bulbs properly equips you for the narcissus bulbs which are simpler in structure. Finally, bamboo bone strokes are used to

In my last article, I shared my personal evolution from consumer to creator. I began my journey as a consumer looking for the latest piece of clothing or gadget I could buy and eventually became a creator, searching within myself to find ideas or truths that I want to creatively express. When I look back on my most satisfying creative experiences, one common thread exists - collaboration. While I cannot deny the satisfaction I feel when creating something completely on my own, it doesn't compare to the exhilaration of effectively partnering with others to create something greater that the sum of its parts.

Many Musicians But Only One Band

I have spent the better part of my life playing in bands. Bands are a fantastic demonstration of the benefits of creative collaboration. Some of the greatest rock bands in history like the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and U2 are made of musicians who are not exceptionally talented as individuals. Yet, somehow this group of average guys gets together and their unique collection of complementary strengths mixes in just the right way and POW! Guys who previously could get no "Satisfaction" begin to "Twist and Shout."

If players in the band would focus on playing in tune with each other, the band would sound significantly richer and louder.

Although I have been in a rock band, my most satisfying creative collaborations have been accomplished in marching bands. The format of marching bands is one that encourages people to set aside their egos and focus their individual gifts towards a collective goal. As the drum major of a high school marching band and the student director of a college marching band, I noticed an interesting thing about collaboration - if players in the band would focus on playing in tune with each other, the band would sound significantly richer and louder. However, if they focused on playing louder as individuals, the intonation would suffer and as a result the band would sound dissonant, unpleasant and oddly enough - quieter. This fact is confirmed by science. When one observes two different notes that are played perfectly in tune, a series of harmonic tones are created that add to the richness and overall volume of the sound. Some of the most exhilarating moments of my life have been directing the marching band when e veryone was clicking just right and the result was the combined talent of hundreds of amazingly talented individuals expressed in harmony as "one sound, one band."

Collaborative Painting?!?

What does all this have to do with painting? Well, the other night I was thinking about the concept of creative partnering and lamenting about how rarely it is done in the visual arts. You see dance troupes, singing groups, bands and theater companies but I have never seen a painting group. Why must painting be this solitary activity for tortured souls like Van Gogh or Jackson Pollock? Then I remembered watching my father and my uncle collaborate on a painting during one of my father's art classes. Seeing the two brothers exchange stroke for stroke was a thrilling experience as each of their distinct styles was harmonized into a single painting. Then the idea came to me! Why don't we have a collaborative painting contest? We can encourage our customers (the OAS extended family) to team up and do paintings together. Then we can showcase these painting collaborations and let people vote on a winner.

What's the Point?

Stroke by stroke collaborations are very effective for improving your individual painting talent. Bringing a western mindset to Chinese brush painting is a challenge because in the west, we like to be "in control," to be "masters of our own destiny." On the other hand, Chinese brush painting evolved out of the Taoist philosophy of seeing man in harmony with his nature and his environment. Too often when we are painting something unexpected happens and we immediately judge it as a mistake. In exasperation, we crumple up our paper and start over. How many unfinished masterpieces are sitting in our waste baskets because we misjudged something unexpected as a mistake? True masters realize there are no mistakes only "happy accidents." Instead of starting over they realize that they are collaborating with the brush, ink and paper rather than commanding them. They interpret the new direction of their collaborators and do the next stroke. When the masterpiece is finished, they realize how many "happy accidents" it takes to make a masterpiece.

By doing a stroke by stroke collaboration with another artist, we learn to embrace this concept and approach our paintings without the constraint of expectation. We obviously cannot control what the other artist is going to do so we are left with our only option - to see what they did and to paint the next stroke. Collaborating in this way teaches us how to approach our solitary painting with an expectation free, spontaneous mindset. Our job is to become one with the brush, paper and ink and to ride a series of happy accidents on the way to the next masterpiece.

The three elements of brush painting are lines, shapes, and washes or textures. This applies to both spontaneous style and fine line. The spontaneous style emphasizes shapes while fine line emphasizes lines.

Often we think of line work as rather static. Line work in brush painting, however, is wonderfully expressive. The essence of each subject is communicated through the line work as the lines subtly change from thick to thin and from straight to curvy. Variations in color intensity can also increase the expression of line work, as is often the case with flower petals outlined in lighter ink to convey their delicate nature. Flower petals are a wonderful example of how line work techniques can be combined; we can see curved lines and slight thickness variations used to depict petals flowing in the wind and folding towards the sunlight.

BKC03 Chinese Calligraphy: Standard Script for Beginners

Making Your Lines Work

One way classically trained Chinese brush painters improve their line work is through the practice of calligraphy. The more an artist practices calligraphy, the more their line work becomes confident and nuanced. Shapes and washes are more forgiving but the lines require a decisiveness that only comes from practice. When you see the line work of a master artist, you can sense entire manuscripts of calligraphy embodied in the stroke. For those of us who have yet to develop such confidence we often struggle with the fear of ruining our wonderfully painted flower and leaf compositions with poorly executed veins and stems. The more you write, the more the fear is replaced with self assurance.

OAS Line Brushes

Each OAS line brush has its own unique characteristics. Some are versatile, allowing you to do both strokes with strength or softness. Some have a sharper tip making them great for Fine Line painting. Some are stiffer making them better for bold lines that bring out the strength and energy of a subject. Some are made of the best quality materials while others are made for those on a budget.

Call or email our staff if you need additional assistance in choosing the right one for you!

Limited time offer!

Small Line Brush Set

H12Set $40

Set includes the 8 featured brushes plus 2 bonus brushes. Bonus brushes are Fine Detail Large and Red Bean.