Chinese Leaves Painting

Leaves
Leaves can help in identifying a flower. They give a sense of strength and support and often provide a balance between light and dark, flexible or stiff. When viewed as yin and yang, the flowers are feminine and the leaves masculine. The lotus below shows this very well. The flower is protected by the leaf.

In a very detailed flower, the leaves may be sketchy. Be careful not to paint every leaf, or to have too many crossing points. Avoid even lengths, or retaining the same width of leaf for too long. Your brush should be used both sideways and up on the tip to achieve variation in the leaves’ appearance. Leaves need to be painted in a lively fashion; they are often robust and make the flower appear more fragile or dainty. Even long, curving leaves (especially bamboo leaves) should have a “backbone”- they should not hang limp like “wet washing” or a bunch of bananas.

Like flowers, leaves can be formed from one, two, or several stroke. The first two usually need to be formed from a “centre tip brush” or “side tip brush.” If a second stroke is added to the first, you can choose whether to place both tips to the centre of the leaf, both tips to the outer edges, or one tip to the centre and one to the outer edge. Experiment with these different methods of forming the leaf to see which you prefer and which would best suit the subject. Above all, do not allow leaves to be boring- vary the length and width of the brush strokes, as well as the space between the leaves. Ensure that there is color variation in the leaves, either ink or pigment. It is usual to paint leaves with the brush traveling from stem to tip. However, sometimes it is better to do it in the opposition direction: when the tip of the leaf is very important and the plant grows in a clump formation, you do not want to emphasize the base of the plant. The way in which the brush is placed on the paper and then lifted off affects the results. Lift the brush vertically to achieve a rounded end.

In Chinese brush painting, it is not usual to show the ground level. As in other categories of subject, the important element is the attitude of the plant- it must look as if it is growing, and therefore clustered at the base in a believable fashion. This is easier to achieve by starting at the tip of the leaf and pulling the brush downward and off the paper gradually, which gives a poorly defined base to the leaf and adds to the illusion of a clump of leaves gathered together in a three-dimensional way. There are also times when you will need to “show the tip” or “hide the tip” of the stroke you make. A cluster of bamboo leaves is a good example of this, where some leaves are shown toward the viewer.

Stems and branches
Although they must look capable of holding up the flowerhead and leaves, stems and branches should not be painted too thickly or look clumsy. An upright brush, with a stroke pushing away from you, is best –it is easier to make the stroke thinner than to control thin-to –thick stems. However, there are times when you may want to paint the stem from flower to root, such as lilies, gladioli, and amaryllis. Remember that plants grow unevenly, depending on the seasons and weather conditions. The lateral growths will be affected by the seasons as well, so the length of the stems between the nodes must vary. A hesitation in the line of painting represents growth variations, especially on shrubs and trees, but make sure that they are not evenly spaced. Additional nodes, shoots, lichen, and thorns can be added later, very often as mi dots, which are traditionally used to express such things. The branches must be at sensible angles to the main trunk or stem. Try to imagine a flow of energy from the main plant that extends to every twig. If the angles are too acute, then the sap will not reach the ends.

Vein, stamens, and pollen dots
The veins are part of the surface texture of the leaf and should therefore be painted while the leaf is still damp (but not wet). Use a brush with a good point, and paint from the stem to the tip of the leaf. Veins are often painted in ink or dark paint colors, but it is something more in keeping with the plant to paint light veins. Use lines, not dots, to represent veins-think again of the energy reaching the edges of each leaf. Use suitable patterns- are the veins straight or curved, are there many or few? Once again, do not paint them too accurately, simple enough to give them character. Above all, they need to have qi. As you gain experience, the veins should become more free and stylish.

Veins on flower petals are usually a darker version of the petal color, or white. They can be painted from the stem to the tip, but are often not taken all the way, just far enough to suggest some pleating of the fragile structure of the petal. They should not all be the same length or distance apart. You may also wish to paint some short veins or markings from the outer edge of the petals, for example, on irises. These marks are carried out with a nailhead stroke, a definite starting point and then into the air.

The same stroke is used fro painting stamens, which should be done when the paint or ink is almost dry, as they form a separate part of the flower. Again, do not paint them evenly in length or spacing.

Pollen dots are, as their name suggests, varying sizes of dots. On some of the colorful, more ornate, flowers they are frequently painted with yellow and white mixed together to give the opaqueness to show up against the dramatic flower color. The peony is a good example of this.

Some plants have aerial roots, such as the Meilin orchid. These can be painted with a fine brush, but they can also be shown by splitting the fibers of a larger brush and using only a couple of brush strokes. Vary the amount that the split brush comes into contact with the paper to avoid several parallel lines.