Japaense Botan - Peony

by Leanne
(Japan)

Japanese Painting - Botan - Peony

I have started learning Japanese painting, which is the art of mixing naturally occuring rocks (which have been crushed into a fine powder) with animal glue and painting it on Japanese Washi Paper with a small amount of water. I have been told that this type of art work is similar to watercolor (only I find it a little more forgiving if you make a mistake).

This picture was inspired from a book I was reading on this art form. Using the techniques described in the book I created my own version of the picture. The main technique used was blowing paint (gold leaf and Japanese ink) over the back surface of the picture and then painting the flowers and leaves.

If I were to do this picture again I would avoid over painting the peony with the white paint. I would also make sure that the white paint was smoother and faded better than it currently does.

This picture was painted on Japanese Washi (Rice) Paper and is approximately Approx 30cm x 20cm.

I particularly liked the stems on this picture.