Chinese Water & Waterfall Painting

Chinese Water & Waterfall Painting

Rushing water, furious waterfalls, even placid lakes, add movement to a landscape. Water flows into the spaces left by the rocks and creates the marvelous mists that are so typical of Chinese scenery. Both water and mist can be painted- that is to say, shown in some detail using light color. But more often they are described by leaving the paper blank, which emphasizes the difference in character from the solid to the flexible. If the sky is painted (again, this is usually shown by blank paper), then some Chinese artists believe that the lake/water should be painted too, and vice versa.

By contrast, the waterfall seems noisy and active. Two examples are given here. The first is shown in the ink stage only, but should be completed in color. Everything about these compositions has more impact-the amount of texture, the details, as well as the height and drama of the rocks edging the waterfalls.

1. Use two shades of ink to paint the main elements and texture in the scene. Remember that the principles of "light dark" and "large/small" refer to spaces, as well as brush strokes.
2. Add some "wet" (usually light) ink to obtain further variation. The second example is more complex in composition than the first. Note how the water is expressed by space. Add darker ink where desired to show foliage or greater depth.
3. Finally, add the light color, painting over the ink lines and strokes to give subtlety. Use burned sienna and sky blue, using more brown in the foreground, blending and converting to the blue for distance.