Day 115: Bird on a Branch

I’m quite glad to see we’re moving along fairly quickly in Chinese Painting Class this term – we had one last practice of the Chrysanthemums this afternoon and then got started on a new subject, this lovely bird. By the way, I was a week out last week with Mother’s Day, it’s not until next Sunday, 12th May,  so now I get to say Happy Mother’s Day twice 😛

I was finding my patience was really short again today, I don’t know what’s suddenly causing that… maybe I need to find an hour this week for some yoga or meditation! Anyway, I was struggling with the branch a bit – too much water in the brush, and I also couldn’t think how twigs and branches ‘went’ when they’re growing.

I hope that makes sense, it’s something that when it’s right will make the tree look utterly believable… and if it’s wrong it will never, ever be convincing as a real tree. I know I’m not alone here, many people find this incredibly difficult. Translating a three dimensional object onto a flat two dimensional plane takes a mind bending shift in perception, and on some days it just won’t work!

All in all it didn’t go too badly, the ink just soaked in a bit too much while I was trying to decide where to push my brush next, making my twigs thicker instead of thinner as they got nearer the end.