Goldfish Lesson

Description

Goldfish

Goldfish must be painted swimming and with vitality! You’ll paint Goldfish, the Dragon-eye and Pompon fish in addition to water plants.

The refinement of Chinese Brush Painting is seen in the Tang (516-905) and Sung (950-1260) Dynasties. Coincidentally, in the Sung Dynasty, varieties were bred for the aesthetic appreciation of their beauty! By the Ming (1368-1644) and Ch’ing (1644-1911) Dynasties, this was quite a fad!

In the 17th century, the Tao or ‘way of Chinese Brush Painting’ was codified and included were the rules of painting fish:

‘Fish must be painted swimming and darting with vitality. They should appear startled by a shadow, or they should be floating idly, opening and closing their mouths. As they float on the surface, dive, or glide among the water grass, the clear waters envelope them or ripple off them. Deep in one’s heart, one envies them their pleasure. As with human beings, they should have an ‘i’ (idea, meaning). If one fails to render this aspect of their divine quality (shen) and merely copies their appearance, even painted in a stream or mountain torrent, the fish will look as flat as on a platter.’
New lesson includes both the Louhan, new aquatic plants and background enhancements.