Peony model in Chinese painting Mogu

I The sketch

Create a sketch according to the second method described on the main page of Mogu painting.

First, place the flower. The leaves and stems should bring out its posture. The painting must maintain harmony between the dense and the sparse, the concentrated and the expanded. When painting the flower, pay attention to the size, density, direction, etc., of the petals. The leaves and flowers should conform to the natural look of peonies. Since Mogu painting does not outline, the sketch must be all the more precise and realistic.

Click on the image to enlarge it!

II The Flower

Apply red color to the tip of a first Bai Yun brush previously dipped in water. Prepare a second Bai Yun brush only dipped in water.

Start by coloring the base of the petals with a touch of the first brush, then immediately fade the color outward with the second.

Once all the petals are done and the ink is dry, apply white color to the tip of a Bai Yun brush previously dipped in water. Apply the white ink to the petal from the outside inward to achieve the result below.

Click on the image to enlarge it!

III Leaves and Stems

Start with the top of the leaves. Proceed as for the petals but with green ink. Do not apply white ink, but leave gaps to represent the veins.

For the underside of the leaves, the procedure is the same, but the color is a mixture of green and yellow ink.

For the stems, apply a first layer of green and yellow ink mixture. Then, apply brown ink to a brush previously dipped in water. Apply the ink to the parts of the stem that need it (generally the junctions between the stems) in the same way as for the white of the petals.

IV The Strokes

With green ink to which a little black ink has been added, draw the veins of the leaves.

With deep red ink, draw the outlines and folds of the flower's petals.

Click on the image to enlarge it!

Now all that remains is to affix your seal, write a poem, and sign as you choose.