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<  Technique  ~  wash painting

Julia Z.
Posted: Thu Feb 16, 2006 6:03 pm Reply with quote
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Hi everyone,

one year ago in India I heard about a technique called "wash painting" and also bought a book in which the several steps to create such paintings are explained(not illustrated). Please visit this page to learn about it:
http://www.sanatansociety.com/indian_art_galleries/harish_johari_painting_tradition/painting_tradition_harish_johari.htm

Has anyone of you tried the technique out yet? We tried in India under the guidance of a teacher who would not admit that he had never heard about it so far, and it was a lot of work with very unsatisfying results. What kind of paper should be used? We were told to use rough handmade paper because it is not so easily affected by the water, still it is not possible to make very fine lines. Silk canvas we didn't try, but probably it is the better alternative...

Wish you a good evening
Very Happy

J.Z.
liquidscissors
Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2006 12:31 am Reply with quote
Moderator Joined: 27 Dec 2004 Posts: 164
Indian wash painting works on the same principles as watercolour or ink washes, but focuses more on colour and shape. It's also one of the few wash painting styles that need a horizontal working space - because everything is flatly blended, there can't be any gravity drag to create pools of colour.

The very best paper is something with a light satin finish and short fibres, which means the ink won't be 'sucked' by the grain and it gives you more of an opportunity to blend whilst the ink is still sitting above the grain. Work from palest to darkest with a soft mop to build up the wonderful roundness and depth of colour, then wait 'til everything is bone dry before switching to a short-bristled point brush and ink mixed to a higher opacity to add in the fine details.

Oh, and symmetry, symmetry, symmetry. Mark out everything first with a B pencil (anything H will furrow the paper too much and you'll get ink pooling), and measure everything to be as even as possible. Even if the figure is off-set, the background will be relentlessly symmetrical. It gives a nice sense of formal structure to a style that's otherwise very soft.

Hope this helps!
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Julia Z.
Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2006 9:52 pm Reply with quote
Joined: 16 Feb 2006 Posts: 5 Location: Leipzig city, Germany
Thanks a lot! lol, it seems we've done everything wrong so far, to begin with the mistake to use a vertical working space...
It still doesn't sound like a technique that should be tried out in a small flat... so I'll start working on it outside in summer.
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liquidscissors
Posted: Sat Feb 18, 2006 6:57 am Reply with quote
Moderator Joined: 27 Dec 2004 Posts: 164
That's just what I know from my limited experience with it, but I suspect that it's something that varies from region to region within India itself. Your mileage may vary. Smile

A lot of artists have moved away from ink/pigment washes and are create the same look with airbrushes and pen inking, which is interesting. The graduations they achieve are superb, just absolutely flawless.
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Julia Z.
Posted: Sun Feb 19, 2006 8:53 am Reply with quote
Joined: 16 Feb 2006 Posts: 5 Location: Leipzig city, Germany
Well, in that special case I really would say that we were instructed wrongly. I liked the wash paintings because of the effect of the very last blending with colour. But we were not told to do such a blending and the rough paper was really bad for the purpose...
I don't know why we made such an experience, it may have had something do do with either pride or some misunderstanding due to the cultural differences; probably it was just impolite in the teacher's eyes to say: "No, I can't teach you because I've never heard about such paintings before." Yes, I guess it was something like that. Sad
But thank you very much again, the horizontal thing really makes sense and I will also take care of using the right brushes Very Happy
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