Chinese Landscape Painting Watercolor

Traditional Painting Traditional Chinese landscape painting involves the same techniques as calligraphy and is done with a brush dipped in black or colored ink. As with calligraphy, the most popular materials on which paintings are made of are paper and silk.

Landscape painting was regarded as the highest form of Chinese painting, and generally still is. The time from the Five Dynasties period to the Northern Song period (907–1127) is known as the "Great age of Chinese landscape". In the North, Artists painted pictures of towering mountains, using strong black lines, ink wash, and sharp, dotted brushstrokes to suggest rough stone. In the South, artists painted the rolling hills and rivers of their native countryside in peaceful scenes done with softer, rubbed brushwork. These two kinds of scenes and techniques became the classical styles of Chinese landscape painting.

Six principles of Chinese painting The "Six principles of Chinese painting" were established by Xie He, a writer, art historian and critic in 5th century China. "Spirit Resonance", or vitality, and refers to the flow of energy that encompasses theme, work, and artist. "Bone Method", or the way of using the brush. "Correspondence to the Object", or the depicting of form, which would include shape and line. "Suitability to Type", or the application of color, including layers, value and tone. "Division and Planning", or placing and arrangement, corresponding to composition, space and depth. "Transmission by Copying", or the copying of models, not only from life but also the works of antiquity.

Step 1 Sketch out your ideas on to a piece of paper to practice/get some ideas going. When ready, sketch your landscape on watercolor paper. Do this very lightly, because you may make a mistake and you will need to erase it. Include a foreground, middle ground, and a background. The intended goal is to paint a Chinese landscape in a traditional manor. Usually people are not very significant in a Chinese landscape painting. They are usually small, or painted in less detail than the landscape surrounding them. Most of the traditional landscapes are made with outlining, and basic drawing. Include things like the mountains with flat tops, rocks, trees, and rivers.

Or you could make it with Rounded edges to show the river banks, and a smooth rocky mountain in the background. There are different techniques to drawing water, these paintings do not define mists, lakes, rivers, or waterfalls. The only time it is painted is to show the movement by the squiggly ripple effect. Trees are made up of vertical lines, that scale, and twist. They have horizontal bark lines, hidden and exposed roots.

You must include one type of human, or man made structure. People in landscapes look livelier if they are depicted going about their daily lives. Boats usually imply a nearby habitation like a village. As you can see in this painting, there is a boat at the lower right hand corner. There is also a building in the mountains.

Step 2 Once you have a basic outline of what you will be drawing, you may begin to watercolor your Chinese landscape painting. If you did not notice in the paintings there were not many colors used besides black and grey. The water is not painted in blue, and the trees are not covered in green leaves. Stick to the Traditional colors used in the paintings. When finished, if desired, you can add calligraphy to your painting giving it that authentic traditional look.