Admittedly I have been feeling rather sorry for myself. I get like this when I have no time to sit down and think about life and what I want to do with it. Thursday I walked into my office at work and was just unable to make choices as to what to pursue next. Oh, there were a lot of things to be done, but it seemed just so overwhelming and the mere act of choosing what to do was impossible. The best thing to do in these circumstances – for me, at least – is to sit down with paper and pen and begin to write. Five pages later, the world was in order once more.
Writing is therapeutic. It’s like the pensieve of the Harry Potter stories. I pull out thoughts and ideas and frustrations, and when they are all placed onto paper, there is structure found amidst the chaos.
Painting is much the same process as writing; however, I often feel pulled into different directions. I never focus on one style. The consistent factor is my use of water-soluble media and paper, but other than that, I don’t have a particular style. Consequently, I am not as accomplished as I would like to be in watercolor. I like many of my ink paintings and the simpler watercolors that are based on sumi-e. Traditional watercolors are often disastrous failures. Acrylic paints are not my favorite medium, but there are times when I have used them to create more graphic pictures.
Today, I went through my hard drive to look at some of the paintings I have scanned or photographed over the past year or two, and pulled out some which appealed to me for whatever reason – sort of a retrospective of the work of the last few years. Here they are, not in any particular order, but just for me and anyone who wants to look at them to see and consider.
This is the Year of the Tiger. Tigers are representative of generosity, power, energy, royalty, illumination, unpredictability, and protection. There are, apparently, five types of tigers, all with different meanings and powers to keep the cosmic forces balanced.
White Tiger: ruler of the Fall season and governor of the Metal elementals
Black Tiger: ruler of the Winter season and governor of the Water elementals
Blue Tiger: ruler of the Spring season and governor of the Earth elementals
Red Tiger: ruler of the Summer season and governor of the Fire elementals
Yellow Tiger: the supreme ruler of all these tigers and symbolic of the Sun
People born in these years are Tigers: 1902, 1914, 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010, 2022.
A Bit About Tigers
In and of themselves, tigers are beautiful animals whose very existence is threatened worldwide. Here is a brief bit of information from the Wikipedia article about tigers:
The tiger (Panthera tigris) is a member of the Felidae family; the largest of the four “big cats” in the genus Panthera. Native to much of eastern and southern Asia, the tiger is an apex predator and an obligate carnivore. Reaching up to 3.3 metres (11 ft) in total length and weighing up to 300 kilograms (660 pounds), the larger tiger subspecies are comparable in size to the biggest extinct felids. Aside from their great bulk and power, their most recognisable feature is a pattern of dark vertical stripes that overlays near-white to reddish-orange fur, with lighter underparts. The most numerous tiger subspecies is the Bengal tiger while the largest subspecies is the Siberian tiger.
Highly adaptable, tigers range from the Siberian taiga, to open grasslands, to tropicalmangrove swamps. They are territorial and generally solitary animals, often requiring large contiguous areas of habitat that support their prey demands. This, coupled with the fact that they are endemic to some of the more densely populated places on earth, has caused significant conflicts with humans. Of the nine subspecies of modern tiger, three are extinct and the remaining six are classified as endangered, some critically so. The primary direct causes are habitat destruction and fragmentation, and hunting. Their historical range once stretched from Mesopotamia and the Caucasus through most of South and East Asia. Today it has been radically reduced. While all surviving species are under formal protection, poaching, habitat destruction and inbreeding depression continue to threaten the species.
Tigers are among the most recognisable and popular of the world’s charismatic megafauna. They have featured prominently in ancient mythology and folklore, and continue to be depicted in modern films and literature. Tigers appear on many flags and coats of arms, as mascots for sporting teams, and as the national animal of several Asian nations, including India.
Painting Class – Back At Last!
It was so nice to get back to class after so many months away! Most of the core class was there – Connie, Fong, Paulina, Ann Marie, Jan, Paula, Philip, Cathy – and Teacher himself, Harris. The fact that is was pouring rain shows the dedication of all these painters. Teacher drives up from south of Los Angeles, and Paula comes in about 30 miles. The rest of us sort of radiate out 10-15 miles. Driving in, though, was far easier than driving out – buckets of rain to the point the roads were flooded and it was nearly impossible to see at times.
Teacher with Painting and Sketch in Charcoal and Ink
Foundations of the Painting
Dry Brush Fur on Tail
Teacher does a general outline of the subject with charcoal. He lays in the shapes and sets up the overall composition of the painting. Then he begins to use ink to outline the subject – in this case, of course, the tiger. In the picture you will see the picture which we are copying, and Teacher’s work.
Before any color is added to the painting, liquid ink is used to define outlines and fur. Teacher told us to use a large brush for the lines, and a finer one as well. The brushes were very dry, which gives the effect of the fur, as well as keeps the ink from bleeding into the paper, which is an unsized Chinese paper. It may look easy, but for those of us used to watercolor or acrylics, the entire process of dry brush is difficult because the dry brush in Chinese painting is really, really dry! It seems to be far dryer than what I would use in watercolor, but the absorbancy of the paper makes my “dry” brush seem sopping wet!.
Dry Brush Ink - Brush is Flattened to Create Furn
To indicate fur, Teacher flattens the brush between his finger tips, at the same time removing any extra water from the brush. He holds the brush perpendicular to the paper, or at an angle, depending on what he wants to do. This detail of the tiger’s tail shows you the effect this produces for fur. You will also see that different shades of ink have been used to create dimension. Finally, after about an hour, the foundational inking of the painting is completed.
Tiger - Inking Completed
Coloring the Tiger
In our Chinese painting class, we use Marie’s Chinese Colors. These are inexpensive paints, and often we can buy them as we need them in class because our group keeps them in supply. These paints are opaque, and when dry, do not bleed when wet. The colors we usually get are in boxes of 12, with names like burnt sienna, indigo, carmine, and so on. They are rather thick, but work very well in creating thin, transparent washes as well as opaque spots for details, such as leaves.
From what I have seen in many of my classes with Teacher, color is an addition to a painting, not the main focus. Ink provides the “bones” of the painting; color is like a condiment – something added for piquancy. This proves to be true for this tiger. The colors used were burnt sienna, carmine, and indigo. Straight ink was used for the tiger’s black and the bamboo leaves, and pure white was done at the very end to enhance the whiteness of the whiskers and fur.
Another element of painting on the unsized paper is that the colors become lighter as they dry. In the very beginning, Teacher painted the nose of the tiger with burnt sienna. This picture shows the paint very wet, and certainly the first thought you might have is that the picture is ruined, the paint is waaaaay too dark! But, as it dries, it lightens up, and is very balanced in the final painting.
Tiger - Drier Paint on Nose, and Carmine for Pink of NoseWet Nose!
You can also see that the burnt sienna is a good contrast for the carmine used for the tiger’s nose, as well as the fact that as the sienna dries, it becomes lighter, and quite nice. I think that teacher may have mixed a small amount of carmine with the sienna, but I did not make note of that.
The final painting was completed with ink bamboo leaves. Pure ink was used for the very dark leaves, and diluted ink for the greyer ones. A thin wash of indigo was used to outline the tiger, to make him “pop” out of the paper. Whiskers were added after everything else was done, using a very fine brush and pure white paint. These had to be done when the paper was dry, otherwise the whiskers would bleed into the background, or onto the tiger himself. White was also used to create the effect of fur on the tiger’s body, and, again, to help create a stronger image.
Teacher Adding White to the Tiger
Finally, the tiger is finished, and set aside to dry. At this point, we students have the opportunity for critique of the previous month’s work. Teacher does calligraphy if we want – after all, what is is a Chinese painting without a poem? He also shows us how to correct our paintings, by demonstrating where they might be weak. He will paint over our pictures (with out permission), and sometimes just a subtle wash will show us how to improve. He also will show us how to do something we might be struggling with, such as flower petals and how to load a brush with colors.
Completed Tiger - Click to Enlarge
Altogether, it is a great experience to watch a gifted painter in the process of creating a painting. Taking notes and photos certainly helps to recall what was done in class. I plan to do this tiger, partly because I think he is a very handsome tiger and I like the composition, but also to practice different elements in painting. I will post pictures of my progress, as well as evidence of my practice strokes and work on paper before I even begin this painting!
And now, here is the final painting of the tiger. Click on the photo and you will be able to see it in greater detail. Depending on your browser, you will see the picture enlarged, and then if you hover over it, a magnifying glass should appear to bring it to its original size. If this works for you, you will be able to look at the different areas of the tiger in fine detail.
The other day I received a request to demonstrate painting a palm tree in sumi-e. As I have painted these in watercolor, but not in sumi, I thought I would do a bit of research. To do this, I just googled “palm tree” and clicked on “images.” You can also go to places like WebShots, Flickr, and so on, and do a search for palm trees. The reason I did this search is to look at the different types of palm trees, as well as consider which one might make the most interesting composition. Shape of the trunk, direction of the leaves, texture and structure all play important parts in a photograph and a painting. As sumi-e is shades of black-grey-white, I find these elements are especially important focal points.
The above photo is an amalgamation of numerous public domain images of palm trees, as well as one I took when I was in the British Virgin Islands several years ago. Some are very familiar to us here in SoCal, especially the top center one – these are the palms that are found lining the streets of Santa Monica.
I also have a couple of ACEOs I did of two different palm trees. The one on the left is a sago palm (I think). We have three of these in our back yard. The one to the right is a banana palm. Sagos are short, squat, and slow-growing. Their fronds are stiff and pointy. The banana palm is a much more “loose” palm – if such can be said – as its leaves fly around and are not serrated as most palm leaves.
Whenever I think about a painting, whether in watercolor or sumi, there are elements to consider. For me, the shape of the object on the page is perhaps the most important.
With sumi-e and other ink-painting traditions, the essence or spirit of the subject matter is important. I don’t think this is less important in modern Western painting, but scientifically exact and accurate rendition of an object is less important in the East.
This means that a sumi painting of a palm tree must catch the qualities of a palm tree. For me, the sound of a palm tree in a brisk wind is its most outstanding abstract feature. Fronds dancing in the wind would be an element to catch. Other elements which say “palm” to me are the trunks. Many have smooth trunks, such as can be seen in the pictures above, but the sago palm, the king palm and many other have rough trunks. Fronds are dropped from the tree and the trunk develops a very ragged quality. Do I want to re-create that texture?
As I have been thinking about doing another video about painting, this request has come at a perfect time.
These really are a lot of work to make, but they are getting easier. Again, a lot of the hard work is the setting up and the processing. I really do minimal work on them, but would like to make ones that are rather polished. The fact is, making videos is a lot like taking photographs – most of what is done is not at all good, most is trash, only a few are good. Making videos for an afternoon proved that point all too well. Also, the fact is, that being on film really makes me self-conscious, not something I like. Painting a line wrong creates instant trauma!
Initially, when I set up to make videos, the whole idea was to do chrysanthemums, in keeping with their autumnal theme in ink painting. Well, I really don’t like any chrysanthemum I’ve ever painted, so why should I be so foolish as to think I might be able to do one for a video?
I ended up painting corn – a really easy subject, yet one that is uses a lot of different techniques. Dots and medium grey ink, very wet. Twisting the brush in different directions as painting. Dry brush strokes. Contrasting shades and textures.
There are a lot of “try before you buy” video editors out there. Some allow you to publish a video without blurbs on the final product which tell the whole world who they are. Others do it, which is annoying, but they can be removed with some editing. Some programs are fairly intuitive – which is important if you don’t know a dang thing about video editing – and others come with decent tutorials and help sections. Some are slow to load, hard to see, confusing, but full of cool devices. Others are not, but have online resources which you can use to create your own what-is-needed, like a title or template. To get what I want I have been swapping between a number of programs, but expect I will eventually settle on one. I really appreciate 30-day windows to try out stuff! I’ve been rather confused and frustrated, but am beginning to understand a bit about them. One thing I do know is that over-processing the videos is occurring, and a lot of quality is lost. As long as you don’t watch them in full-screen mode, the quality is okay.
Sunflower Sunday
As always, my weekends are far too busy, but I do make time to have fun. This weekend I was determined to try out a different set-up for the Zi8. When I work inside in my studio (office, spare room, whatever!), the camera cannot be easily placed where I usually work. My painting area is part of an L-shaped computer table, and the camera really is best placed to my left. Unfortunately, the computer area is also to the left. I have tried all sorts of gyrations, but nothing was especially great. Practice will eventually create the perfect set-up.
So, I decided to try it out on the patio, and it worked out pretty well. I could get the camera over to the left of the chair and angle it so I could film as if the viewer were looking over my left shoulder. The key was to place the feet of the tripod perpendicular to the table – this way I could scoot the chair back to stay out of the picture, but not knock over everything if I moved. All this worry creates a very stressful painting situation, but this time I actually felt fairly comfortable, and ended up painting and filming – turning the camera on and off with the remote – for quite some time.
The result was a 15-minute video on painting sunflowers. YouTube has both a size and time limit, but I decided to try it anyhow. No dice. I tried to compress the video into a 10-minute segment, and all I ended up seeing was a black screen. Thus, I had to divide the video into segments, which was not easy until I got into another software package. I was able to edit out sections with pauses, and divide the sections into different videos with different titles. The final result is two videos!
Painting Sunflowers in Sumi-e: Part One and Part Two
Here they are! YouTube also allows you to do “audioswap” and add a free (to the video-maker) music track to the video, with the caveat some advertising may appear. I did it for the Painting Wild Orchids in Sumi-evideo, and for the two sunflower ones, which you can see below. Hopefully the music will add to the proverbial “viewing pleasure” and the advertisements won’t distract.
Ink, Yarn & Beer 