Kwan Jung: Chinese Brush Painting

Kwan Jung, NA, explains materials, shows how to hold the brush, and demonstrates six traditional Chinese subjects: prawn (and the 10 basic brush strokes), swallow birds, bamboo in calm weather, bamboo in wind, hibiscus, horses and cowboy, viewed at multiple camera angles for clear instruction, making it all look easy.

Capture the essence of complex subjects in just a few strokes with Chinese brush painting. This traditional method requires patience and practice, but you'll get a huge head start in master painter Kwan Jung's video workshop. You'll build discipline and design skills as you render six classic subjects in ink and paint.

Kwan covers the essential skills, from grinding ink to gripping the brush. First you'll learn the 10 basic strokes as you paint a prawn. Then you'll add movement and gesture to your repertoire as Kwan demonstrates bamboo and bird forms. He varies brush width within each stroke, allowing him to paint quickly and judiciously. Kwan adds colorful accents with acrylics and watercolors. You'll mix these media with ink to subtly shift hues as you paint hibiscus, horses, and a cowboy. The video repeats critical strokes so you can watch Kwan's brushwork from multiple angles. Learn classical techniques to enhance your current art in Chinese Brush Painting with Kwan Jung.

The serenity of his personality is reflected in his work. Kwan Jung uses the following materials in this workshop: Two ply Xian paper, black ink (ink stick or liquid ink). Watercolor: blue, orange, yellow and red. Brushes: Mid-size sheep hair brush, bamboo brush of fox hair. Kwan recommends practicing with one brush until comfortable then adding one brush at a time. Chop of soap stone for seal, red seal ink. 

BONUS CLIP: Holding the Brush

In this clip from his video workshop, Chinese Brush Painting, master painter Kwan Jung demonstrates the proper technique for holding a brush. You learn to steady your hand for painting details with the lock-in hold and to paint large shapes using the three-finger hold.

BONUS CLIP 2: Painting a Bird with the Chinese Brush Technique

In this clip from his video workshop, Chinese Brush Painting, Kwan Jung demonstrates a traditional method for painting beautiful, classic subjects with an amazing economy of brush strokes. He paints a swallow with only 10 strokes using black ink and a single color. Like all the demonstrations on Kwan's video, this clip shows the most difficult stroke from multiple angles so you can master it at home.