Orchid Chinese Painting Tutorial
To draw an orchid, you should start with the orchid leaf. Freehand orchid leaf painting is also called a left hand stroke, just like the strokes of a calligraphy calligraphy. The ancients had a formula for painting orchid leaves: "One stroke is long, two strokes are short, and three strokes break the phoenix eye." These three sentences are the simplest and most effective inspiration for getting started with painting orchid leaves. Beginners must start practicing with these three strokes, and express various forms of orchid leaves through the length and thickness of the leaves as well as the changes in the strokes of the brush. Leaving leaves is like drawing a line. The lines should be flexible and strong, soft yet strong.
In order to facilitate practice, first write the first stroke from left to right, also known as shunting the pen, starting from the root to the tip, and writing with the center. The starting and ending ends of the pen should be sharp, and the pen should be moved in the middle There must be a certain width. The second stroke also moves from root to tip, but the key is to intersect with the first stroke to form a phoenix eye shape, which is the so-called "crossing phoenix eye". It doesn't matter which of the two strokes is longer or shorter, but the length of the two strokes must be different. The starting point of the two strokes at the root cannot be an actual intersection but an imaginary intersection, that is, leaving some gaps.
The third stroke is called "broken phoenix eye", which is a stroke interspersed in the phoenix eye. The phoenix eyes of the first two strokes can be long or short, and the broken stroke is inserted into the middle and lower part of the phoenix eye. More suitable.
During the process of leaf-skimming, the pen should change while running, which is also consistent with the change of orchid leaves turning sideways in nature.
At the root of the virtual intersection of three strokes, the fourth stroke is the intersection of "crucian carp head", which means that several strokes come together to form a crucian carp head shape, and cannot be spread out on a flat line.
In the orchid leaves, beginners have to overcome several taboos: the first taboo is to have two leaves parallel (such as laying a railroad track), the second taboo is to have the roots spread flat, and the third taboo is to make three strokes intertwined into a drum frame. Four taboos are to avoid using a pen without changing the shape or painting, smearing or tracing when skimming leaves.
It is more convenient for most people to use the pen from left to right. But using the pen against the trend from right to left is indeed a subject that beginners must practice more.
Three-stroke leaves are more monotonous, and the leaves must be added to form clusters. Methods for adding leaves: ① Add leaves at the intersecting phoenix eyes. ②Reorganize the cross-eyes and broken-eyes. ③Add small leaves at the roots. When painting a cluster of orchid leaves, you should leave a place for flowers at an appropriate location.