Mustard Seed Garden Manual of Painting, Vol. 3

十二 page twelve

Introduction to Woody Flowers, Volume One

...differ from the inner petals of the wintersweet original: lamei (蠟梅), Chimonanthus praecox. These flowers are seen throughout the four seasons. If observed carefully by the common eye, their forms and colors can be captured naturally. As for exotic varieties from distant lands, or the flowers of fruit trees and medicinal seedlings, though they are occasionally depicted in paintings danqing: literally "red and blue-green," a traditional term for the art of painting and the pigments used, there is no time here to list their specific names and appearances in detail.

Method for Painting Leaves

It is an established rule that the leaves of herbaceous flowers are soft and tender, while the leaves of woody flowers are thick and deep. However, among woody plants, those whose leaves emerge in spring alongside the flowers—such as the peach, plum, crabapple, and apricot—should also be rendered as soft and tender, despite being woody species. Naturally, the leaves of autumn and winter should be made even thicker and deeper.

Because herbaceous leaves are tender, they should be interspersed with "turned leaves" leaves showing their undersides to suggest movement and depth. As for species like the osmanthus, citrus, and camellia, which endure frost and snow without withering and remain unmoved by wind and dew, their color should be deep and thick. Yet, the principle of light and shadow, front and back yinyang xiangbei: the structural logic of how leaves face the sun (yang) or turn away in shadow (yin) naturally applies; one cannot omit the use of turned leaves. For these types, the front of the leaf should use a deep green, while the back should use a lighter green.

Whenever a leaf has been shaded with washes xuanran: a technique of applying color or ink in gradients to create volume, one must then draw the veins goujin: literally "hooking the tendons," the delicate process of outlining leaf venation. The thickness of the veins must correspond to the shape of the flower, and the intensity of the ink or color must match the color of the leaf. People generally know that the use of green for leaves is divided into deep and light shades, but they often do not realize that the use of red is also divided into "tender" and "failing" stages. New spring leaves often have red tips, while the old leaves of woody plants turn crimson before they fall in autumn. However, for young leaves that have not yet unfurled, the color should be carmine zhi: a bright red organic pigment; for withered leaves about to fall, the color should be ochre zhe: an earthy, brownish-red pigment. One often sees in the flower and fruit paintings of the old masters that amidst the dense green leaves, they also slightly reveal scorched edges or insect-eaten spots. These details, conversely, are what make the work superior—this is something one must understand.

Method for Painting Calyxes

Flowers such as the plum, apricot, peach, plum, and crabapple all have five petals, and their calyxes original: di (蒂), the base of the flower where it meets the stem are likewise similar. The shape of the calyx...