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From a painting by Hasegawa Tōhaku (1539 – 1610). See discussion.
Calligraphy, Sketches and Demonstration Painting
Calligraphy, Sketches and Demonstration Painting
Calligraphy
Calligraphy
There are three Japanese words this week for those who want to practice their calligraphy. All three are written in kanji. The first word is shikunshi (Four Gentlemen).
The next word is take (bamboo).
The final word is gyobi-hō (fishtail technique). Gyobi-hō is a certain style of bamboo leaf in paintings. It is further explained below.
Sketches
Sketches
Instead of the usual sketches this week, the illustrations below provide detailed instructions on how to paint a bamboo. The first illustration below shows how to paint a bamboo culm. The instructions on the left deal with loading a brush with three shades of sumi. We covered this last week. This is called sanboku-hō (three ink shades technique).
Once the culm is painted, branches are needed. Branches always sprout from the culm's nodes.
Next come the leaves. The style of painting leaves shown this week is called gyobi-hō (fishtail technique). The appearance of the painted leaves resembles the type of leaves that some bamboo species actually have in nature.
This first illustration shows how to paint individual leaves. They are made by using uneven strokes. Apply the brush to the paper where the base of the leaf is to go. Press down using a chokuhitsu (vertical) stroke, push the brush in the direction of the leaf tip, and gradually lift the brush away from the paper.
Practice painting bamboo leaves in all directions and shades of ink. This illustration gives an example.
Bamboo leaves share stems with other leaves. The following sketches provide several examples. Note that some leaves are darker than others; i.e., different shades of ink were used.
Demonstration Painting
Demonstration Painting
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