Qi Baishi: The Painting Method of Yangcheng Lake Hairy Crabs
The hairy crabs from Yangcheng Lake are well-known for their unique delicious taste. As a cultural phenomenon, they have permeated into people's social life and artistic fields.
Colors: All the colors used by Old Master Baishi were self-made. When learning to paint Qi-style freehand brushwork flowers, you can use lead tube colors as substitutes. They are gamboge, vermillion, azurite blue, light azurite blue, ochre, dawn red (can be replaced by cinnabar or deep red), and indigo (can be replaced by ink).
Old Master Baishi had dedicated color dishes for his paintings. A few minutes before painting, he would use a small spoon to take water from a small cup to moisten the colors for use.
Crabs: The brush technique for painting crabs is simple, without complex changes, making it most suitable for beginners. In the step-by-step diagrams, the first two figures are painted using the main brush with a slanted tip (also known as side tip). The remaining figures in the diagrams are all completed with the central tip. The key points here are:
1. When painting the double claws, the brush should make short-distance slanted movements on the paper. Avoid pressing the brush down firmly on the paper.
2. When painting the crab body, it should form several angles with the four edges of the paper, avoiding being parallel or perpendicular to the edges of the paper.
3. When painting the crab legs (using the "main brush"), avoid having them parallel to each other or to the legs of other crabs.
4. The position of the eyes should be far apart on both sides and tilted outward. Do not paint them too close together or upright on the shell.
5. When painting the crab legs, the wrist should move synchronously with the direction of the legs. If the wrist does not move and only the fingers move, it will be difficult to paint well.
6. The brush should be relatively dry, and the movement of the brush should be slightly slow.
7. When painting the crab claws, still use the main brush and the ink should be painted deeper to highlight the texture of the claws.
8. Use large regular script goat hair brushes. Paint when the crab body is half-dry. Too early will cause blurring, and too late will not look naturally formed.
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