Brush Painting in Ink and Color: Plum - With the Asian Brush Artists Guild

Essential to learning brush painting is the study of “The Four Gentlemen”--bamboo, orchid, plum and chrysanthemum. Continuing the work she began last spring on bamboo and orchid, Judy Giguere will demonstrate plum, a subject representing new life as spring emerges from winter. Gnarled, textured old tree trunks and vigorous new shoots offer a fascinating contrast of rough surfaces with delicate plum blossoms and present an opportunity to develop brush painting skill for experienced artists as well as newcomers using the dancing brush.’’

Materials:Please bring some newspaper, a few dishes to use as palettes, a container for water (plastic is fine), small paper weights (can be stones) and some paper towels. For those who have brush painting materials, please bring your rice paper, felt, Chinese or Japanese sumi-e black ink, watercolors and brushes. You will need a firm brush, such as a medium-sized Mountain Horse or Orchid-Bamboo brush for branches, and a small brush for the flowers. For those who do not yet have these materials, we can share some paper, ink and watercolors, and. We will be using two types of white watercolor—Chinese white or gouache for mixing as well as Doc Martin’s bleed proof white for dotting anthers. A limited supply of Mountain Horse brushes as well as small brushes will be available at the workshop for $20 each for those who need them.