Category Archives: Chinese Brush Painting

Closing in on the blur (hummingbird wings 2)

Posted on September 21, 2021 by Reluctant Rat

This last year has for most of us sped by in a blur. Coping with a global pandemic has meant endless change, marked by steps backward as often as we seem to be moving forward. My painting has gone much … Continue reading →

What you see is what you get: the hummingbird wing

Posted on June 26, 2021 by Reluctant Rat

A traditional aspect to Chinese Brush Painting that I truly embrace is the balance between realism and representativeness commonly achieved. One strives to accurately depict such things as associations (bees with certain flowers, dragon flies with others, willows by waterways, … Continue reading →

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Ox painting styles

Posted on February 17, 2021 by Reluctant Rat

The purpose of my blog has always been to record my journey through the world of Chinese Brush Painting (CBP), to show any progress in technical skill, and to bring together in one convenient spot the resources I collect on … Continue reading →

Posted in Chinese Brush Painting, ox or water buffalo, style | 2 Comments

Ten Day Oxen Odyssey: painting 100 beasts

Posted on February 12, 2021 by Reluctant Rat

My art room has long been a haven, but never so much as during this long year of restrictions on social gatherings. With a passion for painting the Chinese zodiac animals and the recent connection via Facebook with an artist … Continue reading →

Posted in Chinese Brush Painting, ox or water buffalo | 5 Comments

Painting cowherds

Posted on January 25, 2021 by Reluctant Rat

Favoring animal painting over the ‘bird and flower’ conventions of Chinese Brush Painting (CBP), means I have studied ox painting before. (See previous blog post here.) With the approaching ‘year of the ox’ (Feb. 12, 2021) I decided to spend … Continue reading →

Posted in Chinese Brush Painting, ox or water buffalo, painting water buffalo | 3 Comments

Outfoxed when aiming to paint wolf

Posted on October 30, 2020 by Reluctant Rat

Inspired by the acrylic wolf paintings of artist Andrea Moore, and determined to paint wolves in moku style (because it can be more expressive than linear style Chinese brush painting for some subjects) I scoured my library and online sources … Continue reading →

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Not just another dog, painting wolf

Posted on September 29, 2020 by Reluctant Rat

We grew up in fear of the “wolf at the door”. It took me a while to determine my parents and grandmother were speaking figuratively (life altering abject poverty) and not literally (the wild beasts occasionally spotted in our wilderness … Continue reading →

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Mountains on my mind: Tree lines

Posted on August 29, 2020 by Reluctant Rat

The master horse painter Lok Tok often presented his animals in a mountainous setting. The distinctive rugged cliffs of China offer a fittingly magnificent background for singles, pairs, and of course the conventional eight lucky horses. He also depicted mountains … Continue reading →

Posted in Chinese Brush Painting, painting landscapes, painting mountains, wolves | 1 Comment

The Big Strokes (Hokusai on Painting with Contour Lines)

Posted on July 19, 2020 by Reluctant Rat

Depicting animals and figures using a ‘continuous line’ in the manner of acclaimed Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) led to mixed results for me. I easily painted cats, bunnies, turtles, and human figures, but struggled with cranes. His drawing lessons … Continue reading →

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One stroke challenge from The Old Man Crazy To Paint

Posted on June 24, 2020 by Reluctant Rat

Towards the end of his life, acclaimed Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) went by the name Gakyo Rojin Manji, meaning Old Man Crazy to Paint. With challenging health issues (not the least of which was partial paralysis from being … Continue reading →

Posted in Chinese Brush Painting, continuous line, painting crane, painting figures, painting turtle, Uncategorized | 6 Comments