iris – Page 2 – Ink, Yarn & Beer

Iris, iii

I keep thinking about my cochineal dyeing – I still need to write up the rest of it, and post some pictures. Maybe tomorrow when I have more time.

Tonight, though, is painting night. Not a lot of time for it, but in the little time I had, I did some outline drawings of irises. The idea is to get a sense of shape. I drew from some of the photos, and copied some from the Mustard Seed Garden; in fact, I think the best ones were those as the contrast created by the lines was very nice. My own drawings are quite lacking. I am so out of practice!

This painting was the first, done early this morning on the same very absorbent paper I used for last night’s wash paintings. You can see just how it sucks up the ink – whoosh! The rest of these are done on tissue thin sulfite paper from Japan, which is much better for line drawings as it is not as quick to wick the ink out of the brush.

All of the above were done from photos. The bottom one was copied from the Mustard Seed Garden – and you can see the refinement compared to my own awkward drawings. Hopefully I’ll get better . . .

Iris, ii

I did my visual research. I downloaded almost 100 different iris pictures, for color, shape, structure, position. Too many to post here! Also copies of famous prints and paintings – Japanese screens, Van Gogh’s fields. Besides flowers, I also looked at leaves and descriptions. I pulled out my “how to” books. And, I watched the videos from my last post.

The iris is an impressionistic dream! It is not a tightly structured flower, but more an explosion of color and shape. Also, not all irises are bearded, even though there is a similarity of structure amongst the varieties, as far as I can tell. The color variations are numerous, and vary from subtle to outrageously loud. The most structured thing about the iris is the leaves, which are a perfect contrast in their simplicity against the frilliness of some of the blooms.

Each video provided some instruction, in shape, in how to move the brush, how to load the color. Right now I am working in sumi ink alone, so that means grays, whites, blacks, and everything in between. The paper I am using is a roll, and the paper itself is very absorbent. This presents a bit of a challenge because the brush has to be very, very dry for control. And then, waiting for the paper to dry enough to pick up darker lines, but not bleed them away into the already wet paper.

This is what I accomplished this evening. The main focus of this painting venture was to think about, and to do, the brushwork. Determining how to manipulate the brush to create given shapes and how to load the ink onto the brush is part of this practice session. Because the throat of many of the lavender-blue-purple irises have a yellow throat, that pale color has to be represented by white or light grey ink. Some irises are light on the tips, and darker toward the center. How the stem attaches to the flower is also important, and deciding how to relay it visually also means deciding what kind of movements need be done with the brush, wrist, and so on.

I’ll stop with that. Needless to say, the values need to be sorted out at some point! These are all disasters in that area.

From Sadami Yamada's Book on Flower Painting

Following the Brushwork of Danny Chen's Video

Following Virginia Lloyd-Davies' Brushwork in Her Video

Painted from an Upside Down Photo - a la "Drawing from the Right Side of the Brain"

Iris, i

I tend to be somewhat encyclopedic when it comes to learning about something. The result is a collection of stuff, and the clutter in my life is evidence. Given that, here is some info I’ve collected about irises. For our Chinese painting class exhibit, this will be one of my subjects.

These complex flowers, if well done, may be accomplished with a few brush strokes.

Anatomy of the Iris

Photos, diagrams, drawings. All these can familiarize the painter with the parts of the iris plant. Knowing what is what, and where, make the difference in successful rendering. This does not mean a scientific illustration is what must be done for an artistic or spiritual representation of the iris, but knowing how it is structured helps (me, at least) figure out what an artist is attempting to do – and what I might want to do.

This schematic illustration may be found at the Historic Iris Preservation Site, along with many colored illustrations and information about irises. Other illustrations may be found by doing a websearch for parts of the iris flower.

Painting the Iris – Videos!

Watching various artists and their approaches to painting is always educational. And what is caught on video can be watched over and over. How a brush is loaded, with ink or with color, is as important as how the brush is utilized on the paper. For this, I am talking about the free-style painting of the iris, not the fine line tradition in Chinese art. One brush may express a shape with a thin line, a smushing line, and rolling. Below, you will find a number of artists and their interpretations, as well as a very structured example, with the brush strokes done step-by-step.

This first video is by Danny Chen; you may find his work at Chen’s Gallery. His mastery of color mixing is astonishing.

Virginia Lloyd-Davies of Joyful Brush is very talented; her website will show you her mastery of Chinese painting.

Next is Henry Li of Blue Heron Arts. His small business on eBay has blossomed (if you will excuse the pun) into a one from which you might buy a variety of supplies. Here he demonstrates the iris using a hake brush.

Nan Rae is a California artist who has produces lovely paintings in the Chinese style; she has authored and illustrated a number of books as well.

Next is Kazu Shimura, who I absolutely adore. You can find his videos on You Tube as well as here.

Rebecca Lynn Cragg on You Tube shows you numerous sumi-e techniques, as well as how to wear a kimono! Ms. Cragg runs a tea house, Camellia Teas in Ottawa, which I would love to visit.

Finally, Yang Haiying (I hope I spelled her name correctly), has videos on Chinese painting, and many other things. Her videos are brief, but if you watch her brushwork carefully, you will learn a lot.