Spooky and Sparkly - Lines of Nan-ga Ink Painting seen in the works of Tanomura Chikuden

Spooky and Sparkly - Lines of Nan-ga Ink Painting seen in the works of Tanomura Chikuden

Tanomura Chikuden was a great Japanese painter of the Edo period. He is known for his depictions of nature.  

Early in life Tanomura planned to become a Confucian scholar, but he was also interested in painting, which he first studied under a local artist.  Later he went to Edo (now Tokyo), where he became a pupil of the bunjin-ga painter, Tani Buncho. The bunjin-ga (“literati painting”) style, also called Nan-ga, had originated in southern China and had a scholarly and literary base. He came to develop his own style, using gentle strokes and frequently achieving a somewhat melancholic effect. He painted mainly flowers, birds, and landscapes.  

Nanga "Southern painting", also known as Bunjinga literati painting", was a school of Japanese painting which flourished in the late Edo period among artists who considered themselves literati, or intellectuals.  While each of these artists was, almost by definition, unique and independent, they all shared an admiration  for traditional Chinese culture. Their paintings, usually in monochrome black ink, sometimes with light color, and nearly always depicting Chinese landscapes or similar subjects.

MEDIUM: White Paper and Black Ink

REASON FOR THE LESSON: The element of Art that is explored in this lesson is the different organic paths that lines can take.

PREP TIME: 30 MINUTES

MATERIALS:   white paper, black paper, black ink, straw, q-tips, salt, rhinestones, glue stick, and water.

INSTRUCTIONS TO LEAD LESSON:
1. Read the history of Tanomura Chikuden and the Nan-ga style of painting.

2. Show samples of his work and discuss the feelings that his paintings evoke, colors and objects in his artwork.

3. Each student receives the following supplies: -White paper, black paper Rhinestones, Q-Tips, and a Straw.

4. Ask the children to glue their larger white paper to the black paper

5. Art instructor then puts 3-5 drops of ink on the lower 1/3 center of the white paper
and instructs children to blow through the straw to create the branches for their
tree. Talk about how crooked the lines are.Instruct the children to blow the main branches first and then turn the paper to blow the smaller branches from different angles. 

6. Once they have completed their branches, and working quickly before the ink dries, have them dip a q-tip in water and begin pulling down the ink to create the trunk of the tree and then in the water again to make the hillside. 

TIP: Start working in short fluid strokes from the bulk of the ink to thicken the tree trunk. Once the trunk is complete, use more water on the q-tip to pull the ink to the outside to create the hillside.

7. Next, have the children glue on the rhinestones to the sky and title their artwork.

8. Lastly, have the students bring their art to the teacher and they will dust it with salt
which resembles snow. This should be done over a garbage can and then set aside to dry.

CREDIT:
This lesson and project was created by Tamra Brannon