A Grace of Blossoms

In the middle of January I was asked if I could make something special for my friend and mentor, Her Grace, Hlutwige. Those who know Hlutwige know that she’s been insanely active within the SCA for many years in just about every aspect of the society. As such, she has a stack of awards and recognition. If I was going to make something for her, I wanted it to be tailored to her interests and something new. While Hlutwige’s persona isn’t exactly Chinese, we both share a love for Chinese culture and food. 30 seconds after accepting the commission I knew that what I wanted to do was a traditional Chinese painting.

I’ve always loved the impressionistic “water-ink” art of medieval China, but I had never spent much time learning about it. So down the rabbit hole I went. My first idea to “do something vaguely Chinese-ish but with my modern tools and techniques” was quickly trashed as I started researching Chinese brushes, paints, artists techniques and styles with Hlutwige’s voice in my head saying “sure you COULD use modern techniques, but what did they do in-period?”. Thankfully anything Chinese is thoroughly documented, and there are a lot of videos, which helped me to understand what supplies I needed and a bit more about the techniques. Then I asked the question “how am I going to store/transport this flimsy paper and where does the seal go? Glue it to a piece of wood?” And that started the journey down the mounting technique rabbit hole (side bar – this art is mounted using the “Dry Mounting” technique which is a modern version of the wet technique, but takes about 10 minutes, a hot iron, patience and a silicone backing paper).

Finally, after getting the proper brushes, paper, inks, backing paper, silicone glue sheet, dowels, string, then (after a brief “I’m in over my head!” panic), an already prepared decorative mounting scroll from Blue Heron Arts, I practiced. A lot. For the first time in 20+ years I have discovered a painting style I am woefully unskilled at. I still need A LOT more practice. But I am excited to do, and learn, more about this beautiful art form.

Poem

About the Art Style

This painting, titled “A Grace of Blossoms”, was created in the Xieyi (写意 /sshyeah-ee/ ‘writing’ ) or shuimo (水墨 /shway-mor/ ‘water-ink’), style that uses ink washes and simple brush strokes to create a landscape. This style was created during the Song Dynasty (960-1279) by a new type of artist known as “Scholar-Painters”. These people were different from the traditional court painters in that their training in the arts came from a mastery of Chinese calligraphy. Using their calligraphy techniques, they would paint impressionistic “water-ink” landscapes using few brush strokes and focused on space and composition. The subject was rarely painted from life, and usually an interpretation of the artist’s spirit, rather than a recording of the land they lived in. Some Scholar-Painters would even become hermits to better merge their spirits into the natural world. It was later, during the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368), that the scope of this art was expanded to allow poetry and calligraphy.

And the Mounting 

Chinese art is painted on Xuan paper (known in the West as “Rice Paper”), which is a thin and fragile paper made from soft plant fiber. When wet, the watercolors are strong and vibrant but fade once dry. During the Warring State period, over 2000 years ago, the Chinese perfected a preservation and displaying technique performed by specialists called “mounters”, 裝裱師 or 裱畫師. Mounters worked very closely with the artists to protect, restore and hang their art. Once properly mounted, the artwork will recover the vibrancy of the wet paper, yet be protected with archival properties that enable it to last centuries. The mounting process used during the Song and Yuan dynasties used a “wet technique” that used a paste to attach the art to a thicker piece of paper, then a decorative silk brocade border would be added to the backing paper. This would then be set to dry “through all the seasons” (9 months). Once dry, the back of the artwork would be gently rubbed wax which would make the art supple and humidity resistant. Wooden rods would be attached to the Heaven (top) and Earth (bottom) of the art, to help support it, provide a method for hanging the art, and give it an easy way to roll it up for storage.

Some interesting reading:

The Craft of Mounting Scrolls: https://www.pressreader.com/china/beijing-english/20180830/281539406825921

The Treatment of Chinese Portraits: An Introduction to Chinese Painting Conservation Technique

https://cool.culturalheritage.org/coolaic/sg/bpg/annual/v18/bp18-05.html

Article on Chinese Painting by the Metropolitan Museum of Art https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/chin/hd_chin.htm

Videos:

Kate Wu: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4bEOXz_TUuHczrziG9l6Aw

Nan Rae: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPDLJLLboUrwp7gwWQ-dmeg

Henry Li: https://www.youtube.com/user/blueheronarts

Supplies: 

Blue Heron Arts (in LA): https://www.blueheronarts.com/ (amazingly fast shipments, excellent quality)

Want to get started ink painting with some practice supplies? Try these from Amazon:

• Sumi Ink
• Brush Assortment
• Xuan Paper (100 sheets)
• You will also need a large square of white felt and a couple of water/mixing dishes (a small cup and plate work)