Gongbi Painting

Gong Bi has a multitude of meanings. In the term 工笔 Gōng Bǐ, Gong conveys the sense of "refined," "meticulous," "delicate." 笔 Bǐ generally refers to writing tools, but it also means "to write." From this, we can already infer the painting style associated with this term. The Gong Bi technique thus seeks finesse and precision in detail. It requires good technique and a great deal of patience.

Materials and Supports

Gong Bi is practiced on non-absorbent paper or on silk.

For the contours, a 狼毫 Láng Háo brush is used. There are mainly four types of Láng Háo brushes to distinguish:

1. The 红毛 Hóng Máo (red hairs) for thick lines.
2. The 衣纹 Yī Wén (clothing folds) for long lines (such as the contours of clothing).
3. The 叶筋 Yè Jīn (leaf veins) for the contours of flowers and leaves.
4. The 蟹爪 Xiè Zhuǎ (crab claw) for the finest lines (such as dragonfly wings).

However, I strongly recommend using a small 小白规 Xiǎo Bái Guī brush. Master Wang Shuhui, renowned for the finesse of his lines, used only a Xiǎo Bái Guī brush to trace all types of contours.

Two 羊毫 Yáng Háo brushes are then necessary: one for applying colors inside the contours, and the other, soaked in water, for shading and blending the colors.

Depending on the surface to be colored, three sizes of brushes are used, with the following names:

1. 大白云 Dà Bái Yún (Large white cloud) of large size.
2. 中白云 Zhōng Bái Yún (Medium white cloud) of medium size.
3. 小白云 Xiǎo Bái Yún (Small white cloud) of small size.

These three brushes all belong to the Yáng Háo types, but they are specific to the application of colors in Gong Bi.

The Different Steps of Gong Bi Painting

I. Drawing the Sketch

Two methods are possible:

The first method involves drawing the sketch directly on the sheet you want to paint with a 2B pencil. However, since rice paper sheets are very thin and therefore fragile, you cannot really erase and redraw without damaging the support. Therefore, you must succeed on the first try. Some minor corrections by lightly erasing are, however, possible.

The second method involves first drawing the sketch on a regular drawing sheet (Western or Chinese, it doesn't matter). This sheet is then placed on the paper you want to paint, with the sketch facing up. With the pencil, you then go over the contours to leave an imprint on the sheet underneath. This sheet then has the contours lightly imprinted. You can then start painting it. If the imprinted contours are not sufficiently visible, you can lightly retrace them with a 2B pencil. This method is longer, but it prevents damaging the rice paper and also allows reusing the draft to recreate a similar painting.

II. Tracing the Contours

The contours are traced in black ink with the brushes mentioned above. Care must be taken not to make lines of uniform thickness. The variation between thick and thin lines is of great importance, and some painters do not pay much attention to this.

Finally, depending on the color tone you plan to use for each part, you must pay attention to the density of the ink for the contours.

III. Applying the Colors

This is done in several steps. Before undertaking each step, ensure that the previously applied colors are completely dry. First, apply the color with one brush, and then, with another brush soaked in water, shade and blend the colors.