Waterlily paintings & photo: First Friday Art

Today I’m sharing a couple waterlily paintings and a photo I created. I attempted to paint the waterlily using a traditional Chinese style. Artisans train for years to perfect this type of painting. My first efforts at Chinese brush painting pale in comparison.

In the first painting, I used watercolor paint on a smooth cold press paper. Since I like showing a lot of detail in my artwork, this type of painting, where less is more, was challenging. This was my third attempt at doing this style of painting.

In the second painting, I used acrylic paints on a mixed media slightly grained paper.

I worked from the photo shown below of a waterlily blooming at Petersen Rock Garden and Museum.

Before doing the waterlily paintings, I familiarized myself with the brushes using black ink. The quality of brushes varies, but sets can be purchased online at low costs.

Here are some of the exercises I did with ink using hard and soft brushes. I really enjoyed doing these exercises. When using some of these techniques, you hold the brush straight up and down instead of at an angle. I used The Chinese Brush Painting Bible by Jane Dwight as a guide.

Inkstones and Inksticks

I recently decided to purchase an inkstone and an inkstick. You grind the inksticks on the inkstones with a little water to make ink. In the Chinese period dramas I’ve watched, they frequently feature characters grinding ink. The inkstone I purchased is of a simple design, but some are elaborate works of art.

I bought an inkstick because you can vary the density of color more than you can with traditional bottled ink. To see the ancient method used to create inksticks, watch this FASCINATING video. The oldest Chinese inkstick artifacts date back to the 12th century BC.

Do you have artwork you would like to share? Be sure to include the First Friday Art tag.

First Friday Art (FFA)

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