Week 2

Demonstration Art

From Kano Tsunebobu (1636–1713 ): a copy of a painting by Kongshan. See Discussion.

Calligraphy, Sketches, & Demonstration Paintings

Calligraphy

This is the kanji word ran (orchid) for those who want to practice their calligraphy.

Shunran Sketches and Demonstration Painting

Traditional beginners' shikunshi shuran paintings are done using some specific brush techniques. The first is called teitōsobibyō (釘頭鼠尾描). It literally means nail head (teitō -- 釘頭) and mouse tail (sobi -- 鼠尾) brushstroke (byō -- 描). It begins with a strong touch like that of a nail head and then trails away like the tail of a mouse. It is used for shunran leaves.

Multiple shunran leaves are painted crossing over each other like those illustrated next.

The illustration below demonstrates various shunran blossoms. All the petal strokes are painted from the tip to the calyx, the point at which all the petals join. Use chūboku (medium sumi) for petals and tanboku (light sumi) for the stems. Finish by adding the stamen with nōboku (dark sumi).

The stamen is the heart of the flower and is painted with shin ten (heart or spirit dots) (心点), so called because the dots vaguely resemble the kanji character for heart (kokoro -- 心). It looks like this:

Three or four dots should do it for the calyx.

Here is my shunran demonstration painting.

Lady Slipper Sketch and Demonstration Painting

Here is a simple sketch of a lady slipper for practice.

Here is my lady slipper demonstration painting.