Learn Chinese Drawing Technique: Peony & Bees Painting Guide

Step 1:

For the flower petals, use a very light, clear ink and a fine brush for outlining. The lines must be delicate and drawn with a central brushstroke. While maintaining smooth lines, do not lose strength. For the fine structures at the edges of the petals, use a combination of square and rounded strokes, avoiding excessive repetitive strokes. For the leaves, mostly use the "nail-head-rat-tail" stroke for outlining. The base of the main part should be thicker, gradually thinning towards the tip. The brush speed should be slow and strong, emphasizing the solid feel of the front leaves. For the supporting leaves, sepals, and tender leaves, use a lively and varied brushwork with sharp angles, moving the brush quickly and fluidly. Stems and flower stalks are basically outlined with "iron-wire" strokes, aiming for a thick and sturdy feel.

Step 2:

After thoroughly wetting the paper with clean water, while still damp, use a bluish periwinkle (a mix of periwinkle and phthalo blue) to wash the background. Concentrate the color mainly on the lower left and upper right parts of the painting, applying more layers to the lower left. When brushing, intentionally create vertical streaks to mimic falling rain. Then, when about 80% dry, flick clean water onto the surface to create a slightly mottled texture.

Apply a thin base layer of white powder to the flower petals. Apply a bluish periwinkle base layer to the front leaves. Apply a "five-green" base color (a mix of malachite green, dark ink, white powder, and a touch of light green) to the reverse leaves, flower stalks, stems, and flower calyx. Apply a sap green base color (a mix oflo blue, gamboge, and a touch of vermilion) to the small leaves and supporting leaves. Bees are omitted.

Step 3:

Small areas of the background beneath the leaves and flower petals are washed with periwinkle.

Flower petals: Apply a light "sky blue" (a mix of malachite green and phthalo blue) over a large area twice. The first layer should be applied about 1 cm away from the petal edges. The second layer should cover a slightly smaller area, but the color intensity should be the same.

Front leaves and flower calyx: Apply a medium-to-light periwinkle about twice. The bottom layers of leaves should be washed several more times. When applying the wash, pay attention to the overall light-dark representation of the leaves. The group of leaves in the upper left of the painting should be intentionally subdued.

Reverse leaves: Directly wash with light periwinkle, leaving a "water line" along the edges of the veins.

Tender leaves: Wash the base with light emerald green (a mix of phthalo blue, gamboge, and a touch of emerald green).

Supporting leaves: Wash a large area from the tip towards the base with light vermilion.

Step 4:

All front leaves are continuously washed with periwinkle over a large area, from the base to the tip. In this step, ensure the major values are established without being overly concerned with the number of washes. When applying the wash, it is crucial to pay attention to the difference in lightness between the bottom, middle, and top layers of leaves. Also, the blurring of the background leaves must be considered.

For reverse leaves, use a slightly bluish periwinkle (a mix of periwinkle and phthalo blue) to apply a light wash, making the "water lines" slightly more distinct. Tender leaves continue to be washed with emerald green (a mix of phthalo blue, gamboge, and a touch of emerald green) from the base towards the tip. Supporting leaves are glazed with light vermilion from the leaf tips towards the base.

The flower calyx is painted similar to the reverse leaves. The seeds are washed with periwinkle, and the base of the white pistils are washed with light sap green (gamboge and periwinkle).

The flower petals continue to be washed with a medium-to-light sky blue (a mix of phthalo blue and malachite green). The area around the flower calyx should be washed several more times. This step still focuses on establishing the major values, and the structural undulations of the petals themselves do not need to be overly considered in this step. When washing the reverse petals, be sure to leave a "water line" at the base. Since the flower color is pure white, washing multiple times and then leaving a water line might result in the flower appearing too dark. Additionally, the overall color of the reverse petals should be slightly brighter than the front petals; that is, when washing, the reverse petals can be washed one or two fewer times than the front petals.

Step 5:

All front leaves are blended with a slightly darker indigo (a mix of periwinkle and ink). The main dividing line is the central vein of the leaf. Do not consider the subtle structural undulations of the veins on both sides of the leaf, as this can make the light and dark relationships of the leaf appear fragmented. After blending, add a small amount of periwinkle to the heavy ink to create a dull heavy ink. Use this to lightly wash small areas according to the leaf's structural changes. The area covered in this step must not be too large.

Reverse leaves are blended in small areas with a medium-concentration, slightly bluish periwinkle. Flower stalks, stems, etc., are also lightly blended with this color.

For the flower petals, continue to blend with a light sky blue (a mix of phthalo blue and malachite green) with a tiny amount of periwinkle added. In this step, carefully consider the varying heights and overlapping relationships of the structural lines on the petals. Larger structural relationships at the petal edges should also be defined in this step. After blending, use a medium-concentration periwinkle to apply a small wash to the darkest areas of the petals.

For the background, as needed, use light periwinkle for deeper washes. The background color around the flower petals should not be too dark with ink, to avoid the painting appearing muddy. The background around the three scattered leaves in the upper left of the painting and the bright scattered leaves at the bottom of the painting should be re-washed entirely with periwinkle.

For the supporting leaves, use a medium-to-light carmine to reverse-wash from the tip towards the base, following the undulations of the veins. When washing, leave a "water line" at the tip. For the brighter half of the leaf, after reaching the middle part, primarily use the "dyeing-high" method, gradually fading it out.

Step 6:

Flower Petals: Use a medium concentration of indigo (periwinkle and ink) to lightly wash the darkest areas. The edges of the flower petals are lightly reverse-washed with light periwinkle, leaving a water line to create a transparent feel. The bright areas of the reverse and front petals are highlighted with a medium concentration of white powder. The flower bud and the reverse petals further away from the flower are highlighted with thick white powder. The tips of the pistils are highlighted with white powder, and their bases are lined with light carmine.

Front Leaves: First, use light indigo to lightly wash the darkest areas. The leaves in the bottom layer should have a heavier ink tone. Afterwards, a large area is glazed with a bluish "first green" (first green and phthalo blue), moving from the bright areas to the dark areas. The distant view should be lighter, and the close-up view should be darker.

Reverse Leaves: The base is lightly washed with periwinkle in small areas, and the darkest areas are highlighted with indigo. Afterwards, a large area is glazed with a thicker "five-green" (a mix of malachite green, dark ink, white powder, and a touch of light green), moving from the bright areas to the dark areas.

Tender Leaves: After highlighting the roots with sap green, the bright areas are glazed with a thicker yellow-green (gamboge, phthalo blue, and a touch of light green).

Supporting Leaves: The tips are washed and highlighted with carmine.

After wetting the paper with clean water, use a wash brush to remove any floating color from the painting and to soften the background of the painting. You can brush a bit harder to reveal the white of the paper.

After washing, re-outline any blurred ink lines, selecting based on their original light and dark variations. The lines should be precise and match the first ink lines as closely as possible.

Finally, re-outline the reverse leaves, tender leaves, supporting leaves, sepals, stems, flower stalks, and flower calyx with light carmine. The main veins of the front leaves are re-outlined with a medium concentration of madder red, and the fine veins are drawn with a medium-to-light indigo. Dots of thick white powder are used for the stamens and to draw the filaments, and light madder red is used for the anther lines.