It is so helpful to watch you create the lines, curves and volumes you use in forming your subjects.The thing that led me to finding your site is to learn how to paint better. I believe if we could see more of how you load your brush; see more of your forearm, hand and brush actually forming to create the shape and learn the brush best suited to form the shapes you are forming it would be even more helpful. Please consider making more videos.
Wow--your brushwork is totally amazing, and your ability to create a great composition so decisively is unbelievable. So very beautifully done, Virginia!
Wow, just the graceful movements of your hand is an art in itself. The way you get depth and movement into the petals from just a single brush stroke is mind-blowing. I could actually feel my brain trying to figure out how the effects were made - I was dumbfounded. Also, I could feel my fingers itching for one of those brushes and taking it for a spin - finding my own way of making it dance over the paper.
Mrs. Lloyd-Davis, I think you cand rightfully call yourselfa Master Painter. Mr. Josh Harveys adding his beautiful improvisation to yours, makes an incredibly beautiful experience.
I admit that this strangely brought tears to my eyes, the very fact that with simply paint and water and paper it is possible to bring forth so much beauty in a tarnished world, it make for a better place and a more restful one, I could happilly live in a simple room painted like this staring up at into my mind ,, thank you so well done ,,,, best wishes to you xxxx
It's like a special kind of meditation, the music reinforces the good feeling that I like very much with this very large brush to create such beautiful things with wrist vibrations as in ballet, THANK YOU - like (I prefer to sit down and immediately begin to paint .... after a long break - Thanks again.
Good question about loading the brush. Because I am using silk dyes in many of these videos, I rinse my brush then dip it in a water solution containing a few drops of clear glue, then dip the tip into the dye. This still allows the silk dyes to flow on the paper, but gives a bit of body to the stroke. If I am using Chinese inks, I do not use the glue mixture, just water.
Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed it. I now paint standing up and listening to music most of the time - this enables me to dance and wave the brush at the paper! It really helps the energy to come through.
Stunning.... thank you for sharing. Have been deliberating about buying inks .... this has convinced me. AND thank you to Josh Harvey... brings colours to my ears! :)
Give it a try. You might surprise yourself! It really doesn't matter if you're not good at it. I was awful when I started, but I loved it so much, I kept on trying, and bit by bit, I got better. Good luck!
In my experience, shakiness comes from being unsure of the stroke. As always, careful practice is the key (I say careful, because it doesn't help if you practice it wrong!). I recommend practicing one element - such as bamboo or orchid leaves - over and over again; try painting while standing up, listening to music, singing, acting as silly as you like. It will help build your courage and self-confidence. Good luck and happy painting!
Hi I can't draw or paint to save my life, but when you started to paint you just seemed to do little blobs and by the end of this part you had produced a beautiful peony, I was amazed, I must watch part 2 TFS Rosemary
@Thedancingbrush Hi Nora! I have a vacupress (a heat press that also creates a vacuum) and I use an archival adhesive tissue mount to mount the xuan to an acid-free mounting board. It works very well once you have worked out how much time to keep it in the machine. My experience is that single xuan may take as little as 35 secs; double xuan maybe 45 secs; never more than a minute or the paper gets sized and unusable. Problem w wetmounting is the board warps too much.
For this style of Chinese brush painting, you need an absorbent paper so the inks and colors can flow and blend. Watercolor paper won't work. Try a double shuen (or xuan) if you find the paper too thin.
@creativebeam1 Well, you know what they say, practice, practice, practice! Chinese brush strokes are very precise, so they need to be practiced to allow them to flow effortlessly.
I have mounted shuen or rice paper to an acid-free board in order to be able to move it around smoothly for the camera zooming possibilities. Usually I mount my paper after painting on it.
@MrJuniorlinares I generally favor springy brushes for bamboo and orchid, and softer brushes for peonies. All of them are natural hair. Hard brushes may be weasel, soft brushes may be goat hair. Find a brush that works for you, and stick to it.
@MrJuniorlinares Chinese brushes are all handmade, so each one is different. The price doesn't necessarily indicate a good brush. I've found brushes for $1.50 that were great, and $25 brushes that were disappointing. Oriental Art Supply has good brushes and they give good advice. Their bamboo/orchid brush series work very well.
@4nDi I buy handmade rice paper called 'shuen', either single or double thickness. I use the raw not the sized paper, because I want the colors to flow and bleed. I use the smooth side for flowers and birds and the rough side for landscapes. Watercolor paper doesn't work because the colors don't penetrate the fiber of the paper. You can see this happening on my videos (I have premounted the rice paper in the videos to facilitate the filming.).
I usually order my brushes from orientalartsupply. I believe Blue Heron Arts also has reliable brushes. If you are painting small strokes (leaf stems, for instance), use a small brush; if you are painting big petals or leaves, use a medium or large brush. I like hard brushes generally (weasel, horse or wolf hair) rather than soft brushes (goat, sheep hair) because I like the springiness of a brush. I suggest a medium Orchid/Bamboo brush and a small Idea brush to start off.
@THESHOMROM I am very glad to read that my videos are helping you. I agree that it is helpful to watch the brush more in detail and I will make my next video with that in mind. Thanks for the prompting!
I recommend Oriental Art Supply in Los Angeles, California. They have a website and will ship all over the world. Blue Heron Arts also has good quality brushes. I recommend starting off with a bamboo/orchid brush, a roll of practice rice paper and a small bottle of black ink. Good luck and happy painting!
I am using a basic soft brush for some and a basic hard for others. Actually I am not using regular watercolors: these are silk dyes. That's why the colors are so vibrant.
Hello Claire! I understand your frustration. I recommend watching TH-cam videos, both mine and other artists. Ning Yeh puts up very simple to follow videos, for example. If you go to my channel, you can make your own playlist and watch them many times. I have some student/followers who watch every day to familiarize themselves with the strokes. One of the best books is The Mustard Seed Garden Manual. Do give it a try! You may be delighted with the results!
Zhao Claire Excellent news! You will be able to get everything you need in China, and for much cheaper than anywhere else in the world. Paper is heavy, but worth buying if you can fit it into your suitcase. I recommend a double shuen to start off with as it is easier to control the moisture. You may want to check out my facebook page. I put up most of my current projects and show how to develop a composition, what brushes and paper I'm using, etc.
Zhao Claire You can use watercolor paper, but I don't recommend it for this particular style. You want the inks and colors to penetrate the paper and spread so you get the soft petal outlines as well as the crispness of the bamboo strokes. Oriental Art Supply and Blue Heron Arts in the US, as well as companies in Hong Kong, ship all over the world. I have also selected paper in Shanghai and then had it shipped home. Go to art stores in China and try out the brushes and paper.
@katekk1200000 If you are referring to the 'China Rose', then it is not the same family of plants. However, roses and peonies are close in genus - my teacher calls them 'kissing cousins'.
Thanks, Bernadette! I'll pass your comment on to Josh! You may be interested in purchasing my "How to Paint Peonies DVD. In addition to instruction on how to paint the elements, load and hold the brush, etc, there is a 14 segment of peony performance set to music composed and performed by Josh Harvey.
I have now uploaded a three-part tutorial on painting peonies, and demos on bamboo leaves, trunks, side stroke and how to load the brush. More to come soon. Thanks for the encouragement!
You might find doing the strokes enjoyable, despite a slight tremor. Why not try? Having fun with painting is what it's all about. You should have seen the out-of-control squiggles I produced for the first few years! But I loved it, so I kept on. Let me know how it goes!
For this style of Chinese brush painting, you need an absorbent paper so the inks and colors can flow and blend. Watercolor paper won't work. Try a double shuen (or xuan) if you find the paper too thin. Thanks for your kind comments!
You may enjoy following me on facebook. I post new paintings and videos there every day. You can access my page even if you don't have a facebook account. Go to facebook, then write /VirginiaLloydDavies.
lol, yes I did rinse my brush from time to time, although I had several brushes for different colors, since the Joyful Brush video was compiled from performances I gave with pianist Josh Harvey and I had to paint fast. Check out my 3-part peony instructional video on my channel. I made sure that I showed how to mix the colors on the brush! It will shortly be available for purchase as a DVD. Stay tuned!
I contacted Josh Harvey, who composed and played the music on our 'Joyful Brush' video. He said the name of the music is whatever the name of the painting is. You can hear more of his compositions at his website, which you can find on the video description (TH-cam won't let me put the link in a comment. Sheesh!)
It's so beautiful. Thank you for uploading your wonderful piece of art. What kind of paper do you use for this painting? If you could tell us that would be great!
I figure that if only two people disliked it out of over 100,000 views, I must be doing something right! Keep watching the channel, I'll be putting up more videos in the weeks to come!
Thanks, Roberto! You can watch this painting and several more on my DVD "Joyful Brush" or, if you're feeling adventurous, you can try your hand at painting peonies by watching my DVD "How to Paint Peonies". Both are available through my website Joyfulbrush.
It is so helpful to watch you create the lines, curves and volumes you use in forming your subjects.The thing that led me to finding your site is to learn how to paint better. I believe if we could see more of how you load your brush; see more of your forearm, hand and brush actually forming to create the shape and learn the brush best suited to form the shapes you are forming it would be even more helpful. Please consider making more videos.
Wow--your brushwork is totally amazing, and your ability to create a great composition so decisively is unbelievable. So very beautifully done, Virginia!
Wow, just the graceful movements of your hand is an art in itself. The way you get depth and movement into the petals from just a single brush stroke is mind-blowing. I could actually feel my brain trying to figure out how the effects were made - I was dumbfounded. Also, I could feel my fingers itching for one of those brushes and taking it for a spin - finding my own way of making it dance over the paper.
I love love your videos. Please keep painting and sharing your artistic creation process.
I could watch you paint all day long. Thank you for mesmerizing me and for the lovely piano.
Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it!
I'm fascinated by how flexible the Chinese painting technique can be. Great job on the flowers! They look realistic as always.
+Ca Ho Thanks for your kind comment!
Mrs. Lloyd-Davis, I think you cand rightfully call yourselfa Master Painter. Mr. Josh Harveys adding his beautiful improvisation to yours, makes an incredibly beautiful experience.
I was quite entranced just watching you paint - the technique, the style, it's beautiful!
ABSOLUTELY beautiful. Fascinating to watch you. Thank you.
I admit that this strangely brought tears to my eyes, the very fact that with simply paint and water and paper it is possible to bring forth so much beauty in a tarnished world, it make for a better place and a more restful one, I could happilly live in a simple room painted like this staring up at into my mind ,, thank you so well done ,,,, best wishes to you xxxx
Thanks, Stephanie!
It's like a special kind of meditation, the music reinforces the good feeling that I like very much with this very large brush to create such beautiful things with wrist vibrations as in ballet, THANK YOU - like (I prefer to sit down and immediately begin to paint .... after a long break - Thanks again.
So Tranquil and so beautiful. Loved the video and the talent. Thank You
So beautiful ! A joy to watch you create something so beautiful
This is very beautiful. The music choice makes me feel so peaceful and relaxed. Thanks
Good question about loading the brush. Because I am using silk dyes in many of these videos, I rinse my brush then dip it in a water solution containing a few drops of clear glue, then dip the tip into the dye. This still allows the silk dyes to flow on the paper, but gives a bit of body to the stroke. If I am using Chinese inks, I do not use the glue mixture, just water.
so tranquil to watch an image evolve...beautiful,reminds me of watching my dad who was an artist and my mentor,,
So nice, so beautiful music and flowers... you are great artists!
Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed it. I now paint standing up and listening to music most of the time - this enables me to dance and wave the brush at the paper! It really helps the energy to come through.
Brush strokes are amazing....gorgeous artwork!!!!
Such a pleasure just watching, these flowers born under your brush like magic :))))
Thanks, Eva!
Stunning.... thank you for sharing. Have been deliberating about buying inks .... this has convinced me. AND thank you to Josh Harvey... brings colours to my ears! :)
You work with such ease and grace ! Your a pleasure to watch , beautiful
Give it a try. You might surprise yourself! It really doesn't matter if you're not good at it. I was awful when I started, but I loved it so much, I kept on trying, and bit by bit, I got better. Good luck!
In my experience, shakiness comes from being unsure of the stroke. As always, careful practice is the key (I say careful, because it doesn't help if you practice it wrong!). I recommend practicing one element - such as bamboo or orchid leaves - over and over again; try painting while standing up, listening to music, singing, acting as silly as you like. It will help build your courage and self-confidence. Good luck and happy painting!
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it! It's still magic to me to watch a painting grow from nothing. Enjoy the rest of my videos on TH-cam.
Hi I can't draw or paint to save my life, but when you started to paint you just seemed to do little blobs and by the end of this part you had produced a beautiful peony, I was amazed, I must watch part 2 TFS Rosemary
This is absolutely amazing! I've never seen a real watercolor painting in motion like this! You have some gorgeous talent!!!
What a nice piece of art combining few colors and short stokes , given a dimension
look to this master piece.
Roberto Pizano
Absolutely Beautiful. Inspirational.
Thanks! I hope you will take a Chinese brush for a spin; they love to dance!
you are really talented. the drawing is gorgeous.
merveilleux, jolie,magnifique
Волшебство!!...чудо!
Благодарю за урок!🌸
Foreign artist can paint so well. Good
Thank you! Many years of working under Chinese master painters!
Nadam se da će te me i dalje ugodno obradovati s ovakvim i sličnim radovima, ZAHVALJUJEM!
Thanks, Neida! Glad you enjoyed it!
This is so satisfying to look at
+Michelle Kristolia Thanks! You may enjoy my joyfulbrush blog. I put up small videos quite often, and mini-tutorials as well.
+Virginia Lloyd-Davies That's so nice! I'll make sure to check it out :D
so amazing, this painting is very wonderful !
I'm totally exited, cause I've been myself for a while through a sumi-e lesson....really amazing :)
I love your paintings thank you for posting
@Thedancingbrush Hi Nora! I have a vacupress (a heat press that also creates a vacuum) and I use an archival adhesive tissue mount to mount the xuan to an acid-free mounting board. It works very well once you have worked out how much time to keep it in the machine. My experience is that single xuan may take as little as 35 secs; double xuan maybe 45 secs; never more than a minute or the paper gets sized and unusable. Problem w wetmounting is the board warps too much.
Oh my god thiis is amaziiing... Great job !!!
Beautiful ! I love this.
Wow! Beautiful!
this is amazing!! great art
For this style of Chinese brush painting, you need an absorbent paper so the inks and colors can flow and blend. Watercolor paper won't work. Try a double shuen (or xuan) if you find the paper too thin.
Glad you liked it! Enjoy the rest of my painting videos on my channel.
@creativebeam1 Well, you know what they say, practice, practice, practice! Chinese brush strokes are very precise, so they need to be practiced to allow them to flow effortlessly.
Es genial que en menos de 10 mnts puedas hacer algo tan hermoso.
Vaya que usted tiene talento.
+Marceline Alonso Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it!
I have mounted shuen or rice paper to an acid-free board in order to be able to move it around smoothly for the camera zooming possibilities. Usually I mount my paper after painting on it.
Excellent! Happy painting!
Thanks, Carol! Josh and I really appreciate your comments on our performances.
@MrJuniorlinares I generally favor springy brushes for bamboo and orchid, and softer brushes for peonies. All of them are natural hair. Hard brushes may be weasel, soft brushes may be goat hair. Find a brush that works for you, and stick to it.
@MrJuniorlinares Chinese brushes are all handmade, so each one is different. The price doesn't necessarily indicate a good brush. I've found brushes for $1.50 that were great, and $25 brushes that were disappointing. Oriental Art Supply has good brushes and they give good advice. Their bamboo/orchid brush series work very well.
@4nDi I buy handmade rice paper called 'shuen', either single or double thickness. I use the raw not the sized paper, because I want the colors to flow and bleed. I use the smooth side for flowers and birds and the rough side for landscapes. Watercolor paper doesn't work because the colors don't penetrate the fiber of the paper. You can see this happening on my videos (I have premounted the rice paper in the videos to facilitate the filming.).
I usually order my brushes from orientalartsupply. I believe Blue Heron Arts also has reliable brushes. If you are painting small strokes (leaf stems, for instance), use a small brush; if you are painting big petals or leaves, use a medium or large brush. I like hard brushes generally (weasel, horse or wolf hair) rather than soft brushes (goat, sheep hair) because I like the springiness of a brush. I suggest a medium Orchid/Bamboo brush and a small Idea brush to start off.
BEAUTIFUL!
Good tip! Exhaling pushes the energy out through the brush.
@THESHOMROM I am very glad to read that my videos are helping you. I agree that it is helpful to watch the brush more in detail and I will make my next video with that in mind. Thanks for the prompting!
I recommend Oriental Art Supply in Los Angeles, California. They have a website and will ship all over the world. Blue Heron Arts also has good quality brushes. I recommend starting off with a bamboo/orchid brush, a roll of practice rice paper and a small bottle of black ink. Good luck and happy painting!
It takes a lot of practice to make the strokes look effortless - but the practice is fun too!
Very beautiful
omg that is amazing!!!
I am using a basic soft brush for some and a basic hard for others. Actually I am not using regular watercolors: these are silk dyes. That's why the colors are so vibrant.
Amazing painting
Absolutely beautiful, thankyou ;0)
Thanks, Loveleen! Glad you enjoyed it! If you go to my website, you can find many more paintings to use as models.
Thanks Virginia. Just started following your page on facebook :)
Simply superb
Family thank you very much
I so love Chinese painting! I wish I can learn, but it is impossible as I live in New Zealand...
Hello Claire! I understand your frustration. I recommend watching TH-cam videos, both mine and other artists. Ning Yeh puts up very simple to follow videos, for example. If you go to my channel, you can make your own playlist and watch them many times. I have some student/followers who watch every day to familiarize themselves with the strokes. One of the best books is The Mustard Seed Garden Manual. Do give it a try! You may be delighted with the results!
Virginia Lloyd-Davies Thanks for the reply, I am going back China in July to buy some brushes and paint,then I will be able to practice...
Zhao Claire Excellent news! You will be able to get everything you need in China, and for much cheaper than anywhere else in the world. Paper is heavy, but worth buying if you can fit it into your suitcase. I recommend a double shuen to start off with as it is easier to control the moisture. You may want to check out my facebook page. I put up most of my current projects and show how to develop a composition, what brushes and paper I'm using, etc.
Virginia Lloyd-Davies Can I use watercolor paper?
Zhao Claire You can use watercolor paper, but I don't recommend it for this particular style. You want the inks and colors to penetrate the paper and spread so you get the soft petal outlines as well as the crispness of the bamboo strokes. Oriental Art Supply and Blue Heron Arts in the US, as well as companies in Hong Kong, ship all over the world. I have also selected paper in Shanghai and then had it shipped home. Go to art stores in China and try out the brushes and paper.
this is beautiful
Thanks, Kath! (and the secret is lots of practice!)
@katekk1200000 If you are referring to the 'China Rose', then it is not the same family of plants. However, roses and peonies are close in genus - my teacher calls them 'kissing cousins'.
I've always loved Chinese Brush painting. Too bad can't do it myself....
Thanks, Bernadette! I'll pass your comment on to Josh! You may be interested in purchasing my "How to Paint Peonies DVD. In addition to instruction on how to paint the elements, load and hold the brush, etc, there is a 14 segment of peony performance set to music composed and performed by Josh Harvey.
So Beautiful
love this!
I have now uploaded a three-part tutorial on painting peonies, and demos on bamboo leaves, trunks, side stroke and how to load the brush. More to come soon. Thanks for the encouragement!
What kind of colour can be used
I take that as a deep compliment.
You might find doing the strokes enjoyable, despite a slight tremor. Why not try? Having fun with painting is what it's all about. You should have seen the out-of-control squiggles I produced for the first few years! But I loved it, so I kept on. Let me know how it goes!
For this style of Chinese brush painting, you need an absorbent paper so the inks and colors can flow and blend. Watercolor paper won't work. Try a double shuen (or xuan) if you find the paper too thin. Thanks for your kind comments!
You may enjoy following me on facebook. I post new paintings and videos there every day. You can access my page even if you don't have a facebook account. Go to facebook, then write /VirginiaLloydDavies.
Thanks, Rosemary!
Very nice!!!!
very inspiring- thank you!
Thanks, Cahaya Aquarius!
lol, yes I did rinse my brush from time to time, although I had several brushes for different colors, since the Joyful Brush video was compiled from performances I gave with pianist Josh Harvey and I had to paint fast. Check out my 3-part peony instructional video on my channel. I made sure that I showed how to mix the colors on the brush! It will shortly be available for purchase as a DVD. Stay tuned!
You're welcome! (My translation program says this comment is Indonesian and means "thanks very much for helping me in my work". How cool is that!)
wow us teen have not been learning from the masters of art
Thanks, Dalva Maria! Glad you enjoyed it! - Virginia
Thanks Virginia ,very nice a Chinese Brush.I have a question what kind of paper your used and ink the best..
I contacted Josh Harvey, who composed and played the music on our 'Joyful Brush' video. He said the name of the music is whatever the name of the painting is. You can hear more of his compositions at his website, which you can find on the video description (TH-cam won't let me put the link in a comment. Sheesh!)
this is soooo beautiful! I'm so envious of your talent! How did you learn?
gorgeous
It's so beautiful. Thank you for uploading your wonderful piece of art.
What kind of paper do you use for this painting? If you could tell us that would be great!
Thanks, Curlygirl! I appreciate your comments!
I figure that if only two people disliked it out of over 100,000 views, I must be doing something right! Keep watching the channel, I'll be putting up more videos in the weeks to come!
Thanks, Roberto! You can watch this painting and several more on my DVD "Joyful Brush" or, if you're feeling adventurous, you can try your hand at painting peonies by watching my DVD "How to Paint Peonies". Both are available through my website Joyfulbrush.
Cool ^^ even though I'm not fond with flowers. But it's absolutely beautiful.
merveilleux