Hi folks, welcome to my first Blog Page.
I am pleased that my website is now hosted locally by Toolkit Websites in Chichester. They have given my site a comprehensive makeover and given me the confidence to share with you all via these blog pages.
The UK's Chinese Brush Painting Society recently held its annual AGM, which took place over a weekend in November. As is customary, they provided two demos, the second of which was 'Painting Waterfalls.’
Xiaobai, whose style is free and spontaneous, provided this demo. The three hours I spent listening to him and watching him paint flew by! Towards the end of the demo, Angela, the chair of CBPS UK, asked if anyone would provide feedback for the next issue of their magazine; I was delighted to offer this, realising that I would now have to at least attempt a Chinese Brush Painting on the subject of Waterfalls. There are folk who paint along when watching online demos; I am not one of these, I attempted it once but wasted materials and did not fully grasp the teaching. I prefer to watch and listen, especially if I know the demo will be uploaded later. The following week, I completed my waterfall painting, as I claimed in the article that I submitted with it for the magazine.
When is a Chinese Brush Painting finished? Since forwarding my attempt to the magazine's editor, I have done further work on the painting, and I still have some way to go! I want to add my seal, perhaps a line of calligraphy, and two other seals to the painting. To do this, I must practice my calligraphy and consult my teacher before rendering this for the painting. The flimsy Xuan paper, which is very much like rice paper, has to be backed up by sticking it to a piece of cartridge paper with wallpaper paste, a precarious exercise! The painting must be mounted and framed, so I still have a way to go.
Translated, the line of calligraphy I wish to render in the painting is 'Heaven and Earth for Eternity.' Xiaobai encouraged us to 'Draw what you like, draw a story', so I included two people in the foreground in my story.
Over the years, Chinese Brush Painting has completely changed my life. This painting sums up my journey into Taoism. People, trees, rocks, mists, clouds, and water are all expressed as 'Existence Tissue'. They are all part of a universal journey of transcendence, from source, back to source, and then guess what? Setting out again, everyone and everything is constantly in a process of change and transition.
I loved some of Xiaobai's comments as he was painting: " Lining, shading, lining, shading, oh dear! I have painted in the waterfall, never mind." What a super example for us all: Get those brushes out and paint. We will all make mistakes; this is part of the journey.
