Chinese arts paper original work

Inscription reads work of Pan Yan

YAN Egret bird below pink lotus flowers traditional Chinese painting

Of elegant and peaceful poise the Egret stands under the beautiful pink lotus flowers in this peaceful and calming natural scene.

A classic animal of “bird and flower” Chinese traditional painting styles the Egret is a frequent comer to salt water and fresh water habitats, wading in shallow waters upon its lithe and long legs where it feeds upon fish and other small animals.

The density of mature lotus plants with seed pod suggest an area of verdant foliage while the open flowers and large leaves suggest a well lit perhaps summer day, in all this picture generates a great deal of warmth from this scene of natural beauty.

Drawn vertically upon a long length of traditional paper our artist has used the large free hand style with a mineral based black ink to draw out the larger features of lotus plants, while a smaller brush has rendered detail and natural lifelike poise to the egret.

This painting is upon a long sheet of traditional arts paper of white colour and carries a slightly yellow tint as evidenced in the photo which is common to this type of traditional paper.

The complete work is longer in length than this close up photo and includes the bottom portion of the bird not visible in the above photo.

The painting is unmounted though would be sold mounted upon a fabric canvas banner of good quality and suitable to be hung or transported safely.

This work and others displayed in our art gallery are available for purchase directly from the artist through negotiated price, contact address is provided in the top most art gallery post.

Chinese arts paper original work

Inscription reads year of “Ding You”

YAN Black and white lotus flower traditional painting

Rich gradiated black mineral ink is used to delineate the shapes of the foreground lotus leaves and background lotus flower in this traditional black and white painting by our designer.

Though black and white in tone this painting evokes a warm season of spring as the new flower or the lotus opens towards the bright sun and the younger lotus leaves are seen to be just starting to open while the already open leaf evokes a healthy picture of life and blossoming energy.

A large fine fibre goat or rabbit hair brush is used to define the general form of the lotus leaf. Careful control of the amount of ink absorbed by the brush before painting and the rate it which it is applied to the paper after allows in one stroke the colour gradient and shape of the leaf to be precisely drawn out.

This is followed with a smaller fine brush which completes the details of the leaves structure in finer detail, more details of this technique and others are written in our short art blog articles on the lotus flower in traditional Chinese painting.

Traditional Chinese arts painting has two commonly accepted fields which are free hand writing of the type that is painted by our designer and technique painting.

The free hand painting method uses a series of controlled strokes to “write” out the shapes of what one wishes to be painted through a careful stroke which is similar to Chinese character calligraphy that this art form historically developed hand in hand with.

Of the free hand painting method two styles are prevalent. Small free hand is a smaller more detailed style that can produce results similar to the technique painting method while large free hand is a painting style of broader strokes that could be argued to better represent the concept of the will of the painter flowing into the paper as the larger stroke and smaller total stroke number allow an experienced painter to better freely write out ones will.

Our own designer writes in the larger free hand style which is well represented in this black and white painting with the large brush strokes of the lotus leaves.

This painting is upon a long sheet of traditional arts paper of white colour and carries a slightly yellow tint as evidenced in the photo which is common to this type of traditional paper.

The painting is unmounted though would be sold mounted upon a fabric canvas banner of good quality and suitable to be hung or transported safely.

This work and others displayed in our art gallery are available for purchase directly from the artist through negotiated price, contact address is provided in the top most art gallery post.

Traditional Chinese Painting – Lotus Flower

Background

Coloured petals of myriad types of colour and a special plant that has accompanied humanity for millennia with myriad uses – as lotus root food, herbal medicine and a beautiful flowering plant – the lotus with it’s verdantly bright lotus flower is recognised not just in China but across the world.

As centrepiece in the “bird and flower” genre the lotus flower is a well known and distinctive art focus that has been well loved in Chinese culture.

Tang dynasty poems sang by ladies of culture to regale courtesans in ancient Xian associated this flower closely with what many modern Chinese believe to the golden age of historical China, linking it’s bloom and fragrance to the fine palaces and glorious bustle of this silk road contemporary metropolis.

Chinese lotus paintings cover styles and designs wide ranging and differing in character, the lotus flower itself naturally demonstrates a range of colours which in turn are painted in many different though traditionally dictated ways, while the great leaves act as shade for plethora of painted animals which often are accompany to the scene.

The plant itself is a complex flower growing from an underwater tuber through to stem and blossoming with an evident flower with core of female receptacle and surrounding male pistil. Budding leaves, sepals, seed capsule and a defined life cycle for all components once diligently studied allow the artist to understand and better “write” the plant onto paper in a more detailed and complete way.

Drawing of the lotus flower is considered a basic prerequisite of approaching the “bird” part of “bird and flower” painting as it often is the “landscape” which forms the basis for bird to “live” in as well as fish, insect and other small animals which are often placed in scene.

Drawing of the Lotus Form

Often starting from the point of petals Chinese art comprises at least seven different techniques for drawing lotus petals.

Our designer has drawn from the – starting point – of the “draw bone” technique where different ink tones are lightly daubed in a careful single stroke to place the broad shape of each petal.

Three pigments are prepared which are a breaking or light tone colour, proper mid tone colour then the same colour toned with a blacker ink, in one stroke a tending toward light brush is dipped into the three colours respectively to daub it in the light to dark colour gradient after which the petal is drawn.

In a single stroke the shape of the petal is then defined by the movement with which the brush touches the paper, from the tip to the base the brush is splayed out forming the petal from tip to root.

The general petals depth and shape is defined by the manner in which the brush touches the paper, from the tip the brush is splayed out to the base with pressure varied over the stroke to produce gradient in colour – in this case the tip of the petal is darker than the base.

This play of pressure will create bands of colour in this particular style while the manner in which the angle of the brush is splayed out will define the shape of the petal conforming the perspective angle.

Continuing with the above picture after the basic impression of the petal is drawn the petal is continued with the “lay line colour” method, this is continued with a finer brush laying a typically deeper colour line impressing the outline and the veins of the petal over the previously drawn “draw bone” strokes.

In Chinese painting each stroke like the stroke in a character is made to represent an evident and precise part of the greater picture – as a complex character is represented by many strokes to produce a particular meaning so in painting the strokes are precisely “written” out to make a final form.

Though similar to other painting techniques in that a series of strokes create a final form the traditional Chinese technique is more stipulating in that each and every brush stroke must have a clearly defined and recognised form. It is the layering of the these carefully placed and impressed strokes that form the object with a stroke count that is very small in number in comparison to other painting methods.

This painting better represents a simpler “draw bone” technique of which the petal is impressed in a single stroke.

As before a selection of three pigments are prepared and applied to the brush while the gradient of pigment applied is controlled by the depth to which the brush is applied to the ink.

As the petal is drawn colour is gradiated out by the angle of which the brush touches the paper and the coating of the previously prepared pigment which now coats the brush while care is taken to control the flow of ink to paper corresponding to the depth of colour and shape required for the petal.

Large expansive leaves of the lotus plant are drawn in similar fashion to the petals, this unfinished work above as well as displaying a beautiful small blue bird resting on a stem of a lotus flower illustrates large shady leaves drawn in the traditional fashion.

In the draw out bone technique a dry vertical brush first strokes out the bare shape of the leaf bones, a wetter black daubed brush then draws out larger impressions of leaves where when the brush is wet the heaver elements of the leaf are applied and the lighter parts are drawn from the drier part of the brush.

In this second painting using a frequently used mineral based black ink lotus leaves are drawn in a different technique.

A large though fine haired goat or rabbit brush is used for this style of black pigment drawn leaf, where the large brush is carefully applied to draw the leaf in a single stroke care being taken to apply gradient of colour to better define the edge of the leaf.

In the second stroke to complete a dry brush finishes the structure or bones of the leaf including the central stem part this is in opposite order to the first technique talked about.

Summation

Of myriad techniques for painting lotus I have covered only a few basic points taken as highlights from some of the many Chinese texts available on the subject and recommended reading for any interested in painting in this way.

Perhaps the most important point of all dedicated books is that the characteristic of the plant should be recorded from nature and learnt by heart, continuous practising and careful reflection of the key traits of the flower will ensure the best results.

In this observation and recreation of the natural world modern Chinese traditional paintings is as much connected to the natural world as the first peoples who discovered tools to record the world which was then as is now so connected to us.

Chinese arts paper mounted on card original work

Inscription reads Taste of Summer

YAN Pink lotus flower and bird traditional Chinese painting

Rich pink colours emanate from the lotus flowers in this bright summer scene of the “bird and flower” genre in traditional Chinese painting style.

As is typical of this style a small window into nature is recreated on paper, conveying the natural world of secluded darker grasses painted in traditional inks contrasted with the bright summer colours of the lotus flower and blue bird.

This scene projects rich detail from the central pink flower with radiant colourful petals and the bird is painted with a lifelike poise and feature while the colouring of the large lotus leaves suggest a warm and sunny day and the darker grasses and plants add a further depth to this natural setting.

Perhaps the most classic representative flower of traditional Chinese painting the water growing lotus has since ancient times been loved and painted in all forms, sang in poetic prose in the Tang dynasty and has left a cultural heritage in oral language that has endured to this day.

The petals of this elegant flower show distinct tempo according to the weight and direction of stroke used in creating it’s form, this YAN painting shows fairly deep and bold colours of the petals whose form is painted out from centre to periphery which is one of the many traditional techniques used in painting lotus flowers and talked about in more depth in our

This painting is of a Chinese traditional painting paper of yellow tint and obvious fabric like material effect, the paper is not smooth and not canvas yet displays the small fibres of a thicker paper or card.

The paper is mounted upon a slightly off white tending towards yellow card whose colour is captured adequately in the above picture when compared to the white background of the website, this is not a framed painting yet has a rigidity suitable for direct hanging or better still mounting in a frame or other display medium.

This work and others displayed in our art gallery are available for purchase directly from the artist through negotiated price, contact address is provided in the top most art gallery post.