Today I would like to explain a very important thing both in painting and in the life. This is the same thing allows you to drive bicycle, to become more experiencied and wise, also to be tolerant and patient, and to finish sucessfully all projects you start. I mean the feeling of the Balance.
In Eastern tradition from kung fu (I studyed Wing Chun Kung Fu for 8 years) to crafts (I studyed it in Chinece style embroidery) such fine feelings is the key for perfection. In Western tradition the same feeling is important in business and management, especially in mediation process, also in communication. If you read more about religions, you`ll realize then many religions means balance of life and emotions as the way to meet God.
I agree with all cases with indorsement of my own experience. It`s not easy to explain it by words. But that picture in Gohua style is the possibility to feel what exactly the Balance is. As you can feel it painting the picture you can feel the same in other fields of your life.
1 - by medium brush with black ink paint a big stone and a group of several smallest one. You can do it the same way as mine but it is better to create a different shape. You don`t have to imitate my lines and strokes but try to feel another from your own soul. Do it, feel the Balance while you paint it. The Balance directs your hand to make thin or wide strokes.
2 - paint the shape of a tree the same way you did stones. Feel before you paint. If you feel worry about the right shape make a sketch by pencil and then paint the lines over it.
3 - paint the crown of the tree and another bank of the river. The crown consist of many small leafs with a simple shape.
4 - paint the second tree, stones under it and then make details for stones. It doesn`t matter what a progression of details you choose. Start from point you like. As you feel the Balance as a harmony between everything on the picture, you will do it perfectly. The feeling is the principal part, and moving brush and shapes are the second.
5 - create details as you like for perspective and then start to paint out the picture. If you use water-resistant ink you can paint over lines. Else try to paint out carefully as I did (actually I didn`t think about it until I coloured the picture, mia culpa!). Use brown shadows for stones, trunks and yellow colour (or another as you like) for crown of the trees.
6 - Add gray colour for stones while it`s still wet. Feeling the Balance paint out details on the back. Use dark green colour for the crown of the right tree and bushes on the back.
7 - feeling of the Blance means you can feel the harmony of whole picture. So it`s important to make mist by white colour or charcoal and use all paper for it. If you use white paper for painting you can paint the mist by gray or another colour you like. By white charcoal or colour paint the waterfall.
8 - make the mist more thick. Make strokes the way you feel right.
9 - by brown charcoal or brown colour make a house on the middle and a mounting on the back. Add several strokes for mist to make it more thick.
10 - observe the picture and feel youself. What is the harmony? Feeling the Balance you could create something different from my picture, this is very good result! Also you could use my picture as a conductor, may be as a benchmark for your own experience.
To resume that lesson I have to notice advantages of pre-feeling. As you try it you can train it and use in many fields of your life. This is millions results coused from one reason, the feeling of the Balance, Harmony . Try it!
Good luck! 