How to Paint Chinese Bamboo

Question

Bamboo is a major component to Chinese culture and is found in a wide range of Chinese art and painting. 

I want to know how to paint a Chinese Bamoo Painting.

Answer 1

According to Ink Dance Chinese Paintings, bamboo is often painted in shades of black and is allied with the Chinese brush strokes for writing. It is a symbol of purity, wisdom, beauty and strength in China. When painting the bamboo, using the same tools as Chinese artists will make the image more beautiful.

 

Make the ink on a plate. Add a small amount of water, and gently rub the ink block until it reaches a preferred consistency. Adjust water and ink amounts as necessary.

 

Fill the cup with water for rinsing the brush as necessary while painting. Set the cup to the side.

 

Open a newspaper. Dip the brush into the ink so the tip dips into the ink and the brush is covered about halfway. This will give a thick, dark ink for the leaves. Place the brush against the newspaper and tilt it back. Pull the brush gradually upward so the original side is thick, and the end of the stroke ends up pointed at the tip. Start from the left to right. Repeat the action going from right to left. Practice the stroke several times, and cluster the strokes directly next to each other. This forms bamboo leaves.

 

Dip the brush into the ink so the entire brush is covered. Turn the brush sideways and hold it steady. Set the brush down on the newspaper, so the brush is sideways and flat across the paper. Press down gently with light pressure, then drag the brush down about 2 to 3 inches. Lift the brush up and set it back down directly below the spot where it lifted up. This forms the stem and joints of the bamboo. Practice a few times to get used to the motion.

 

Set the newspaper aside, and pull out the rice paper. Clean the brush in plain water and lightly tap it against the soft cloth to remove excess water. Dip the brush into the ink, and paint the bamboo onto the rice paper. Start with the stem and joints along the paper, then add leaves at the joint. Add a thin stem using only the tip of the brush from the joint of the bamboo to the leaves. Allow the painting to dry.

 

Answer 2

Make a Chinese bamboo painting using a traditional Chinese watercolor paintbrush and Chinese black ink. According to the Palo Alto Art Center Foundation, bamboo has long been important in Chinese culture and is often featured in watercolor paintings. In Chinese painting, simplicity is emphasized and objects are painted with just a few strokes. Also, Chinese watercolor paintings use rice paper, but regular watercolor paper can be substituted.

 

 

Fill a cup with water before you begin this project. This cup allows you to control the tone, or darkness or lightness of the black. Squeeze approximately 1 tablespoon of the Chinese black ink into a dish, or use a pea-sized amount of black watercolor paint.

 

Dip your Chinese watercolor paintbrush or soft-pointed tip paintbrush into the water and then mix it with the black ink. Repeat to add more water to the black. Mix the color with the brush.

 

Dip the brush back into the water and press its bristles into the inside of the cup to release some of the black ink. Dip the brush halfway into the water.

 

Place your rice or watercolor paper horizontally on your table. Lay your paintbrush flat and horizontal on the left side of the paper approximately one-third from the top. Traditionally Chinese watercolor paintings are composed asymmetrically and off-centered.

 

Drag the bristles downward, while they are flat and horizontal, for 2 to 3 inches. Be gentle with the pressure. Lift the brush up to create a gray portion of the bamboo. Press the brush flat and horizontal at the bottom of your first stroke to create the bamboo joint. Lift straight up.

 

Dip the brush into the black ink and then into the water. Press the bristles inside the water cup. Drag the paintbrush flat and horizontal just below the bamboo joint you created for 2 to 3 inches for another section of bamboo. Press the brush to form another joint.

 

Dip the brush into the black ink and then into the water. Press the bristles inside the water cup. Drag the paintbrush flat and horizontal just below the bamboo joint you created for 2 to 3 inches for another section of bamboo. Press the brush to form another joint. Continue painting the bamboo with this method down the paper. Ideally an odd number of bamboo segments is preferred in Chinese bamboo painting.

 

Dip the paintbrush into the black ink. With the tip of the paintbrush, paint a thin stem out of one of the joints approximately 3 to 4 inches long. Add another thin stem at the joint above the first stem. Dip the paintbrush into the black and paint a stem on the opposite side of the bamboo from one of its joints.

 

Paint leaves from the stem by dipping the brush into the black ink. Starting from the stem, press the brush heavily onto the paper. Then drag it downward quickly and lightly for about 1 inch. Lift it off to create a leaf. Add more leaves all across the stem. Dip your paintbrush into the black ink and add more leaves on all the stems.

 

Answer 3

The earliest examples of traditional Chinese painting date back 6,000 years. This delicate style of painting encompasses subject matters such as historical figures from Chinese royal dynasties, rolling landscapes, birds and flowers. Rice paper, which is paper made from wood fiber and rice straw, is the most common artist's canvas. For those new to the world of Asian art, painting bamboo leaves is a great first project because you need minimal materials and only basic painting techniques.

 

Mix ink and water. Use a craft stick to stir the mixture in a small bowl until you achieve the desired opacity. Make a medium concentration in one bowl, and make a darker concentration in another bowl.

 

Cover a flat work surface with a drop cloth or a newspaper.

 

Place the rice paper flat on the covered surface.

 

Dip the flat brush in the medium-concentration ink water. Blot the excess water on a paper towel.

 

Place the brush flat at the bottom of page. Hold the brush comfortably with your hand positioned more toward the top of the brush. Gently pull the brush up to create the first part of the bamboo stem. Repeat this brush stroke to create the entire bamboo stem. Leave a sliver of white space between each segment.

 

Dip the tip of the round brush into the more opaque ink concentration. Blot the excess water off on a paper towel. Paint semicircular lines in the white spaces between the bamboo segments to simulate bamboo nodes.

 

Dip the tip of the round brush into the water with the more opaque ink concentration. Blot the excess water off on a paper towel. Hold the brush closer to the bristles, and rest your wrist on the paper as you paint very thin branches coming out of the nodes. Repeat this brush stroke to add as many branches as desired.

 

Dip the tip of the round brush into the medium-concentration ink water. Blot the excess water off on a paper towel. Hold the brush comfortably, with your hand positioned more toward the top of the brush. Place the tip of the brush on the paper, then tilt your hand to drag the bristles to create the body of the leaf. Lift the brush tip up to finish the tip of the leaf. Repeat this brush stroke to create as many leaves as desired. Create a few groups of leaves at the top of each stem.

Answer 4

Bamboo stalks are a majestic relative of the simple lawn grass. The straight and sturdy stalks as well as thin leaves make for a clean visual design that is easy to capture in a painting. A simple painting of bamboo can add a touch of the natural world to an indoor venue or be a great painting project for kids.

 

Paint a vertical line with light green paint. Paint other vertical lines near the first to make a clump of standing bamboo. Let some of the lines tilt very slightly (not entirely vertical) for a more natural look.

 

Paint thinner lines in light green paint branching off from the main vertical lines at slight diagonals to be the thinner, leaf-bearing branches.

 

Paint thin leaves sticking out from the branches, placing the tip of the paintbrush down to create a point, then applying slightly more pressure to create the wider middle part of the leaf, and ending by lifting the tip up at the end to create the final point. Clean the paintbrush with water, and allow the light green paint to dry.

 

Paint thin white horizontal lines at even intervals along the vertical lines to create the look of bamboo segments. Highlight the undersides of the thin leaves with a very thin line of white paint. Clean brush with water.

 

Paint thin lines along the leaves and sides of the main vertical stalks using a darker green paint to provide more realistic contrast and shading.