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1 THE LONDON CHINESE BRUSH PAINTERS’ GROUP Newsletter www.londonchinesebrushpaintersgroup.co.uk December 2013 Christmas Party The day started with Anush welcoming members particularly the new members of which there were three. She then told us the programme for the day 1. Norma would be demonstrating her novel baubles 2. Anush would demonstrate backing a painting Lunch at the New Leaf Chinese Restaurant. 3. Judy would be demonstrating colour mixing and loading 4. Maria would be showing us some calligraphy Norma started by telling us how easy making the baubles would be and showed us a selection of the baubles she had brought to show us how beautiful they are when finished. Norma had bought the patterns when she lived in the USA she had brought patterns for us to use. These consisted 4 sheets of the same pattern. Decorate the patterns to your own taste if you are unsure use Norma’s finished baubles as an example. Cut out the eight circles Cut long the slit Assemble half the bauble by slotting each piece together. Do exactly the same for the other half. Slot the two halves together. For Hanging sew a white thread between two of the top points and stick the smaller circles to the thread, either sew them onto the white thread or stick two circles to the thread.

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Page 1: THE LONDON HINESE RUSH PAINTERS’ GROUP Newsletter Lunch …€¦ · 1 THE LONDON HINESE RUSH PAINTERS’ GROUP Newsletter December 2013 – Christmas Party The day started with

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THE LONDON CHINESE BRUSH PAINTERS’ GROUP Newsletter www.londonchinesebrushpaintersgroup.co.uk December 2013 – Christmas Party The day started with Anush welcoming members particularly the new members of which there were three. She then told us the programme for the day 1. Norma would be demonstrating her novel baubles 2. Anush would demonstrate backing a painting Lunch at the New Leaf Chinese Restaurant. 3. Judy would be demonstrating colour mixing and loading 4. Maria would be showing us some calligraphy

Norma started by telling us how easy making the baubles would be and showed us a selection of the baubles she had brought to show us how beautiful they are when finished.

Norma had bought the patterns when she lived in the USA – she had brought patterns for us to use. These consisted 4 sheets of the same pattern. Decorate the patterns to your own taste – if you are unsure use Norma’s finished baubles as an example. Cut out the eight circles Cut long the slit Assemble half the bauble by slotting each piece together. Do exactly the same for the other half. Slot the two halves together. For Hanging sew a white thread between two of the top points and stick the smaller circles to the thread, either sew them onto the white thread or stick two circles to the thread.

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Norma added that if you wanted to make your own baubles, you need to make a circle of 3” using a pair of compasses the mark the circumference with slots at 2” intervals. You can make your own designs. The smaller discs are about 1” in circumference (I suspect you can make your own size and shape for these). Norma made the assembly of these look very easy, but they need a lot of practise and deft fingers.

Anush laid out the tools she would be using for her demonstration of backing paintings. You need a clean table, this is essential otherwise your painting will pick up whatever is on the table. You need a variety of brushes; each one is used for a specific purpose.

Unfortunately, the only

photograph I took of the bauble

hanging was blurred. The bauble

moved just as I clicked!! But I

think you can just see enough to

get the idea.

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You will also need the paper you are going to back the painting with, this should be a good paper because using an inferior paper will not give a good finish and will spoil your painting. You will also need a board to lay your mounted painting to allow it to dry. This should be left for about two days, or longer. Anush then said that someone had asked her to demonstrate backing the painting onto card; she said that this was a method she did not use herself but was willing to show the Group how it is done. Norma showed us some card she had bought from Maggie, and handed out a sheet of instructions that came from Maggie. I will copy these at the end of this piece. The paste used could be made from flour but that was quite fiddly and took some time so a good wallpaper paste is a good substitute, this can be brought from DIY stores, Anush suggested that a packet that would paste 5 rolls of wallpaper is quite sufficient for our needs. Anush had mixed the paste until it was very viscose and looked a bit like jelly! (Make sure there are no lumps in the paste and it is completely dissolved before you use it)

Anush went on to explain that if you are backing a silk painting it is easier than paper because it doesn’t tear, but you still had to be very careful with silk as any marks that are picked up on the surface when it is mounted. Roll your backing sheet and lay it to one side, remembering to roll it the right way.

. The painting was placed face down on the table, Anush added here that the backing paper should have a border of about 2” all round the painting so if you lay your painting in a straight line about 2” from the table edge that will give you a good idea where the backing sheet should go.

Notice how Anush has put the roll

of tape to stop the paper

unrolling. Very frustrating if it

does at the wrong time!!

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If you think the colours may run you can put another piece of xuan paper underneath it that should hold the colour. Some colours, such as reds and ink, need a long time to dry before you mount them or the colours will bleed. When you are satisfied that the painting is straight, (this is essential when you are mounting silk. You must make sure the warp and weft strands are straight particularly when you do a figure or the face can be very wobbly). Start pasting the back of the painting starting from the middle and paste right out to the corners, making sure you have paste on all four corners, then paste from side to side and from top to bottom. Make sure that you have no bubbles or foreign objects on the back of the silk smooth the paste all over the painting.

This needs to be done with great care – (You can see the gap between the painting and the table. This also ensures that your painting is straight.) The next stage is to attach the backing sheet to the painting, pick up the rolled sheet of backing paper and very carefully lay it on the painting making sure you have the right borders all round. (It could be useful to mark the borders round the painting on the table with masking tape, to show where they go). Then with a soft brush carefully unroll the backing sheet onto your painting being careful not to tear the paper – then paste round the edge of the backing sheet making sure that the paste does not touch the painting, lift the painting making sure that it is secure to the backing sheet and lay it on the board

Anush removes all of the

underneath sheet very carefully so

that it would not stick to the table

or the backing sheet.

You can quite clearly see in the photo the borders round the painting and the dry area between the edge of the backing sheet and the painting.

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So simple when you watch Anush, but it is very nerve wracking so I would suggest you turn off your mobile phone and refuse to answer the telephone during this process. Practice does help!! So the more you do the better you become Anush helps members to back their paintings

Stella’s painting was very tricky, there were a lot of bubbles so great care was taken to smooth them out,

and as you can see the finished painting was perfect!

Beryl’s lovely painting of an egret taken in Costa Rica being pasted. This is the back of the painting

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MAGGIE’S NOTES Mounting Techniques Cut card (any acid free card/watercolour paper approx 300gr. Cut about 2-3” larger than painting. Place painting face down on clean work surface – with a piece of absorbent paper underneath (to act as blot). Lightly spray painting with clean water Paste (wallpaper paste, cornflour or cellulose) from centre outwards to eliminate air bubbles. Carefully lay card over, press to ensure it has stuck. Lift carefully (again!!). Lay face up on a board and fix with gummed tape – cut off when completely dry. Gummed tape may be purchased on line or catalogue from Ken Bromley, Jacksons @ SAA (larger rolls more economical) Many thanks to Maggie for allowing us to use her notes in this Newsletter.

After all this exertion it was time for lunch, we all decamped to the New Leaf Chinese Restaurant in Bond Street, Ealing. The Group had used this venue before but the service then had been very slow. Anush booked tables for us, Hakima sorted out the menu which was fantastic, it had all our favourites and more, I think we all had more than enough. It was a very merry gathering. The service was very good and quick but all too soon we had to return to the hall for the remainder of the programme.

Judy I offered to do a bit on colour mixing after listening to questions at workshops that a lot of people were not aware of traditional Chinese colours and how to use them or the correct way to load a brush. I was told by Master artist Fu Hua that if you want to attain a traditional Chinese painting you should use traditional Chinese materials and techniques. Of course, you can use Western colours but you will never achieve a traditional Chinese painting. The choice is yours. It is a good thing to learn the traditions before one uses one’s own interpretation. I think you will find that your results will be more pleasing. Maria has supplied us with a very good sheet of the Marie’s tube colours. Other forms of colours are powders, chips, these are very pure colours. They are of course more expensive than the tubes but if you are painting for sale it is better to use the best as the colours will be more vibrant. I don’t use many chips but I do have a set, these have been in this container for some years and I have to remember every so often to reactivate them by pouring a bit of boiling water over them then removing any mould that has accumulated, (this mould doesn’t hurt the colour so if you can’t remove it, it will not hurt your painting.) Xiaoli never cleans her palette and says that she uses some colours that are not in the tubes, chips or powders, as they are mixed on her dirty palette. If you remember Shu Hua and Phoebe also kept dirty colours

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which gave them brilliant results. So on to the colours – Don’t mix the colours on your palette as this will only give one colour. If you load your brush properly and use the properties of the paper which is absorbent, which is why the Chinese use the range of papers, each paper acts in a different way. So experiment with colours, brushes and papers and note how they all react. For purple flowers such as wisteria, orchids, Pthalocyanine + a bright red such as carmine (Not rouge) + mineral green (not white), Leaves: Indigo + gamboge/ mid yellow/burnt sienna used for summer green Ink + gamboge with a hint of burnt sienna Pthalocyanine + dark brown gives a very pleasing old leave colour Add more BS for autumn with a warm red Pthalocyanine + rattan – used for spring green If you want to show dark leaves behind use ink to bring the tone down. It is difficult to give exact measures of each as the colour can differ in different atmospheres If you are working in a humid atmosphere, you will find your paper will act differently. It is mainly by instinct that one learns to get the correct colour mix. Studying books is not always helpful as colours are not true in them, but it does give you an indication of the intensity of the colour In general, colours are separated into three groups, cold, warm and mineral. Figure painting – Skin tones Use burnt sienna, cinnabar and a little ink to create your basic flesh tone. It is useful to mix a puddle of flesh tone using rabbit skin glue. You can then make this browner by adding more burnt sienna or pinker by adding more cinnabar or more shadowy by adding more ink, as you require. Load the brush with water and wipe it to remove excess, another method is to use your fingers to squeeze the excess moisture from the brush, this gives a much better indication of how much water you have in the brush. Use the tissue to dry your fingers. Dip in glue and wipe to remove excess Dip into colour and blend it in up to about 1/3 of the brush length Tip with neat colour and blend this should help the colour to bind into the paper this also helps to stop the colours running when you mount the painting. WARM COLOURS – REDS, ORANGES, YELLOWS & BURNT SIENNA Carmine Scarlet/bright red Vermillion Orange yellow Rattan/gamboge Burnt Sienna/browns Yellow mid COLD COLOURS – REDS, BLUES, Rouge Pthalocyanine Cerulean blue Peacock blue Neutral Colours Ultramarine Cobalt Mauve MINERAL COLOURS Cinnabar

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Malachite – Stone Green Azurite – Stone Blue The above list is only a general idea as you can warm a cold colour up by adding a warmer tone. Mineral colours are opaque so should be used with care, usually one adds mineral colours to the back of the painting. INK When added to a cold colour it gives it warmth, so is used on rock faces, In Xiaoli and Jianan’s Book The Complete Oriental Painting Course it is stated “It must be Chinese ink because it is made in special way; no other ink, or black watercolour, will create the same effect. Learning to write with a brush enables the Chinese to absorb this feeling for the ink on rice paper from an early age. Practicing calligraphy, as explained in lesson one, will help you to do the same.” REMEMBER THAT ALL COLOURS LOSES ABOUT 60% OF ITS INTENSITY WHEN IT DRIES so experiment until you are aware of the change instinctively. Brush loading. If you watch the tutors, all of them take a long time to load their brush with either ink or colour, it is done meticulously. Make sure your brush is wet right through. One good way of doing this is to watch the bubbles! I was told that when the bubbles stop the brush is soaked through. If you have a semi dry brush it gives a different effect. Also if you make sure your brush is wet through you only need to put the very tip of the brush into the water. This gives you a greater control of the amount of water on your brush (Phoebe). Firstly, load the brush with a very dilute ink, again making sure that the ink goes right through the brush, be careful not to load the brush to the handle. If you get ink/colour in the hairs in the handle they may flood out when you do not want them too. So only load ink/colour to two thirds of the hair. Then tip the brush in a darker tone of ink. Finally tip the brush in a very dark ink. Press down with the tip then push down with the heel of the brush.

Maria showed us the cards she used and the calligraphy that she put on them.

She put the calligraphy straight onto the cards. These can make very effective Christmas, birthday, Chinese animal and New Year, it will be the year of the horse (ma in Chinese) in 2014. This is a very lively character to paint and should look as if it is a horse galloping over the plain. Maria then did a beautiful scroll in half running script; she made it look too easy

The card at the back reads Spring.

The card at the front reads Happy

New Year.

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Happy New Year There was a discussion regarding 2014 being the Chinese year of the horse, Maria promptly picked up her brush and demonstrated the character ma (horse) on a bright red card, the contrast of the dark, lustrous ink with the red card is stunning and the ease with which Maria

Maria showed us a scroll she had

obtained from one of her calligraphy

tutors showing the very free strokes.

Happiness

New Year

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did the running script was breathtaking. Being a horse myself, I bought the card from Maria so it will be on display for the whole of the Chinese New Year.

Members News Fiona wanted to share her method of spattering on paintings with the Group:- Having just seen the wonderful 9 Dragon scroll at the V&A exhibition and noticed Chen Rong's use of spattering with ink to give life to his clouds, I thought I would share with you my recent experiences with spattering. I started off just using it in my western art but have recently added it to CBP with some success. My experience has been with colour rather than ink. You need to think where you want your spatters and what direction you want them in -always try it out first on a spare bit of paper, each time you spatter. You need to use fairly thick colour with some water but not a lot. If the brush is too wet you will get big blobs which run and spread. Load the brush but not too much and tap the brush on your finger, holding the brush in the direction you want the spatter, now be patient as the spatter doesn't start at once but it will. I usually spatter with at least 2 colours (leave time to dry between colours) and often 3. Don't spatter all over - remember to leave some white space and remember less is more - it's easy to get carried away - do a little, stand back and assess before adding more. Judicious use of spattering can add a sense of movement and spontaneity and can be used to add interest to a bland area. I usually spatter in the spaces between my picture but sometimes over the picture too. Give it a go and have fun - try it out first on a 'failed' painting or one that needs 'something'! LCBPG website Remember you can view this Newsletter on our website. There are lots of lovely inspirational pictures from members on our website now – thanks to all who have sent them in – have a look: www.londonchinesebrushpaintersgroup.co.uk Masterpieces of Chinese Painting 700 - 1900: Exhibition at the V&A 26 October 2013 - 19 January 2014 Presenting one of the world’s greatest artistic traditions, Masterpieces of Chinese Painting 700 - 1900 will be an once-in-a-lifetime chance to see rare surviving works of art drawn from

Maria tells me that Chinese New

Year in 2014 begins on January 31st.

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collections around the world. Explore over 70 of the finest examples of Chinese painting, from small-scale intimate works by monks and literati through to a 14 metre-long scroll painting, many of which are shown together for the first time. Charting the evolving styles and subjects of painting over a 1200 year period, the exhibition includes figure paintings on silk for religious sites, landscape painting and the introduction of Western influences. A significant number of these masterpieces have never been exhibited in the UK before, from banners, albums and scrolls created for a variety of settings to the materials that reveal the traditional process and techniques of painting on silk. More info at :http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/exhibitions/masterpieces-of-chinese-painting/ Fiona has sent news of this exhibition in Oxford Ashmolean Museum, Oxford Current free exhibition until 31st March 2014; Lingnan Masters: South Chinese Painting in Transition 1800-2000 This is an excellent exhibition with some high quality pictures and helpful detailed explanatory labelling – well worth a look if you are in the area There has been great news from the Ashmolean this month. The renowned Chinese art historian Michael Sullivan who died in September this year, aged 92, has left his collection of Modern Chinese Art, to the Ashmolean. These paintings were collected by Michael and his wife Khoan while they lived in China, this according to Shelagh Vainker, the curator of Chinese art at the Ashmolean, says in the Daily Telegraph, is considered to be the best collection in the world. Many of the artists such as Zhang Daqian, Fu Baoshi, Li Keran and Qi Baishi to name but a few were close friends of Michael and Khoan and the paintings were given as gifts. It is hoped that there will be a major exhibition of these works in the Museum in the near future. Please send your cheques to book for the workshop, otherwise the procedure remains the same– please send your cheques to Stella to book your place at the address below: Cheques payable to ‘The London Chinese Brush Painters’ Group’ (LCBPG) Stella Steveni 23 Boldmere Road Eastcote Pinner HA5 1PJ E-mail [email protected] Just to remind members that you must book and pay in advance as places are limited and workshops are very popular. Booking is on a first come first served basis, in the past we have been able to have the big hall, which seats 26, but this is not always available, if we can have use of it, once Stella has received 26 cheques the workshop is full. If we are using the Macbeath Hall the table space goes down to 20 and when this number is filled Stella can’t take any more bookings but you can go on the waiting list. If you can book for several workshops in advance so much the better. If you are unable to attend a workshop you must let Stella know in good time otherwise your payment will not be refundable. We have put this in place because we often have empty tables, which is a shame as it would give people on the waiting list a chance to attend the workshop. Of course, if you have an emergency that is a different matter. Future Workshops (full information in the annual programme Norma sent you in December):

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Next Workshop January 11 2014 William Cai This workshop is now full

2014 Programme February 8 Li Xhuzhuang Calligraphy March 8 Qu Lei Lei Tiger April 12 Phoebe Lin Subject not decided May 10 Kaili Fu Open but she does amazing women June 14 Swee Tan Casely Subject Not Decided July and August No Workshops September 13 Eric Ng Subject Not Decided October 11 Maggie Cross Subject not decided but may ask to do Xmas subjects November 8 Shu Hua Jin Subject not decided December 6, Xmas Party, members teaching, free workshops and lunch This list will appear on our website. Workshops are held on the 2nd Saturday of the month except July, August and December Workshop will start at 10.30 prompt - and finish at 4.30 I am pleased to tell you that we have a very large library of Chinese painting which is kept in the cupboard in the hall, I put over thirty new books there this Saturday. These are a gift from one of our founder members, Jean Smith. Jean has been painting for a long time, but now finds travelling very hard, so is unable to attend the workshops, but she still likes to read the Newsletter and hear news of members and what we are up to. So thanks Jean for thinking of us. If you are borrowing a book from the library please remember to sign it out with the date you take it out, your name and the date you bring it back. I would also ask you to take great care of these books and make sure you bring them back as other members may be waiting to borrow them. Tea and coffee is free at the workshops but individual donations to the Animals Asia charity and Starlight would be welcome. Starlight brightens the lives of seriously and terminally ill children to distract children from the pain fear and isolation they can often feel as a result of their illnesses.

Animals Asia work to free the lovely Moon Bears kept in barbaric conditions in the ‘bile farms’ in China and South East Asia. They also provide sanctuaries for these beautiful animals.

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If you have any articles, dates for exhibitions or courses etc. for the newsletter please send them to Judy at [email protected] 020 7603 9588 The images in this newsletter are the copyright and property of the artists and should not be copied without the permission of the artists For further information about the Group please contact our membership secretary, Norma Kennedy Tel 01462 678982 email- [email protected] The other committee members are; Anush Sarkissian (Chairman and Treasurer) [email protected] Stella Steveni (Treasurer) [email protected] Anne King (Committee member) [email protected] Hakima Fosdike (Committee member) [email protected] Judy Wright (Committee member) [email protected] Finally, I would like to send you all my very best wishes for a very happy, restful and great Christmas, also I would like to wish you a very painterly and peaceful New Year. See you in the New Year 2014. Judy