Week 4

Demonstration Art

From a painting by Katsushika Hokusai (1760 - 1849). See discussion.

Calligraphy, Sketches & Demonstration Painting

Calligraphy

The characters below from the phonetic hiragana syllabary are the word for washi (eagle) for those who want to practice their calligraphy. The pronunciation is the same as the Japanese word for rice paper (washi), but the kanji characters for the two words are different. The kanji for washi (rice paper) is

和紙

(8 strokes in the first character (wa) and 10 strokes in the second (shi)). When the second kanji character is used by itself, it just means paper and is pronounced kami.

The kanji for washi (eagle) is

鷲

(22 strokes). You may try either kanji if you wish

Sketch

Here is a relatively simple sketch of an eagle for practice.

Demonstration Painting

Perhaps one of the most challenging parts of getting an eagle right is capturing that perpetually fierce look. A key is in the eye. The ball itself is round, but, with what looks like a brow ridge made of feathers, the overall area is slightly almond shaped. The dark pupil is surrounded by a light colored iris. The iris is surrounded in turn by a dark area in most pictures I've seen, making it look as if eyeliner was used. The thrusting beak with its ferocious hook finishes the look.

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