| Name | Used for |
| landscape | rocks, trees, lines, calligraphy |
| cloud | dots and flowers |
| orchid/bamboo | orchid, bamboo, calligraphy |
| mountain horse | strokes for mountains |
| leaf vein | fine details |
| clothes line | strokes in clothing |
| plum blossom | dots and details |
| flower bird | flowers and birds |
| Shiguan | soft when wet, stiff in ink |
| Yang Xu | large washes adding color |
| rat hair | drawing details |
| bird of paradise | painting tiny details |
| sweet melon | painting tiny details |
Collecting Brushes
With so many brushes available, a painter likes to use the brush that helps produce the most desirable effect. The old masters from China, however, could use almost any brush to good effect, as they had total control and could use their skill with any brush. Experienced painters can use the orchid/bamboo brush for both large strokes and detailed strokes with the tiny tip of the brush. Until you become so skilled, it is nice to know some brushes can help you in your practice of the strokes. When you progress and find that you desire to be a true literati scholar practicing the fine arts of China, you may want to invest in exotic bamboo brushes with black bamboo handles and gold lettering. These are collectors’ items, and many of the true scholars are also collectors of precious treasures. As a student, you will start with the simple, inexpensive tools. As you study and appreciate these tools, a beautifully shaped brush hanging from your brush rack will be very enjoyable.
Caring for Brushes
Preparing a New Brush
A new brush has a plastic case that covers the cone of the brush to protect it. After you remove the plastic case for the first time, discard it because placing it on the brush again disturbs the hairs. New brushes are also treated with a glue solution to hold the bristles in shape. Before you use the brush, you need to soak it in water to remove the glue and soften the bristles. Swish the brush back and forth to run the water through the bristles to rinse out the glue.
Washing a Brush
Wash a brush carefully in water to preserve its hairs and handle. Stroke the brush against the side of the water container to remove the excess moisture or lay it on a paper towel to help dry the bristles.
• Never thump a brush up and down to clean it as this not only softens the end of the bamboo but can also break off the ends of the bristles.
• Never try to squeeze the moisture out with your fingers on the bristles, as the oil on your fingers will spoil the hairs of the brush.
• Never leave a brush soaking in the water, as the bamboo can swell and loosen the bundles of hairs.
• Never wash a brush in soap even if it is stained.
Storing a Brush
Press your brushes on a paper towel to help them dry out faster before storing them.
• Store each brush by hanging it on a brush rack with the bristles hanging down. This method preserves the end of the bamboo and allows the moisture to drain from the tip.
• Some students store brushes horizontally in a split bamboo rolled mat. This method allows the hairs to breathe, but if the bristles are wet, they take a long time to dry and sometimes the roll gets mildew.
• Some people store bamboo brushes vertically in a tall container with the bristles upward. However, this method lets the moisture drain downward into the bamboo, which can loosen up the glue and cause the cluster of hairs to fall out. If the cluster of hairs falls out, wrap a thin thread around it, put white glue on it, and put it back into the bamboo while the bamboo is still wet. When the bamboo dries, it will shrink a little around the bristles again and the glue will hold it together.
Liquid Ink
In addition to brushes, you will need ink. The traditional method involves grinding your own ink using an ink stick on an ink stone. You may be tempted to buy one of the forms of liquid ink currently on the market, but, unless you are doing a large painting with a large, thirsty brush, this ink is not desirable. It is thinner than the ink you can grind on your stone and it can be too shiny when it dries. On very thin papers, it does not hold a line as well as regular ground ink.
Although it is very convenient not to have to grind your own ink, in using prepared ink you have deprived yourself of the five minutes of quiet centering in preparation for the discipline of the soft martial art of painting. During the ink grinding process, you can quiet your mind, plan the composition, review the strokes to be used, become one with the subject, and thus become better able to depict the essence of the subject rather than simply its pictorial outlines. All of this, besides getting rid of distractions, is part of the process and discipline of painting and should not be passed over lightly.
Ink Stones
The graininess of the ink is determined by the coarseness of the grain in the surface of the stone. Very fine textured ink is ground on a very fine-surfaced stone. As a beginner, you will probably use a grainier synthetic ink stone made from ground minerals and molded into the desired form with a grinding surface and a well to hold the ground ink. Some ink stones have large round wells, which can hold a large quantity of ink. Some round stones have lids to keep the ink from evaporating during the day and in hot weather. When you are painting large areas and washes, you need an ink stone with a larger well. For landscapes, you use dilution dishes to dilute and create several values of gray. Most landscapes are linear with many brush strokes and small areas of graded washes.
The best ink stones are made of the fine-grained Duan stone that come from Duanxi (Tuan-chi) in Guangdong province. Collectors are constantly looking for sources of desirable ink stones. North China has several sources of fine-grained stones with beautiful hues or very subtle colors. When chosen, such stones are usually carved by an artisan into the shape of a leaf, a frog, a bug, or a water lily. These ink stones are truly the precious treasures of the literati scholar. They are kept in wooden boxes to protect them from breakage. They are made of fine-grained stone, but they are brittle and will break if dropped.
Ink Sticks
Ink is produced by grinding an ink stick with a few drops of water on the surface of the ink stone. Later, the ink can be diluted with small amounts of water to lighten the shade.
Ink sticks are normally made from ground charcoal or soot collected from burning charcoal.
