OTHER EQUIPMENT::
A bolw, with or without partitions, for washing brushes or holding clear water. White bowls are best.
A colour-mixing basin, large and heavy enough to remain steady when a brush is stirred in it. Again, white is preferable. Plates and trays with partitions for mixing colours; small cups for various uses.
Plates for storing colours; these have lids and can be stackecd.
Brush racks,paperweights, brush holders. Racks have indenttations for several brushes and are made of mahogany. When painting outdoors, it is best to warp your brushes in the bamboo mats used for storage,so that they will not wet or soil the other items in your kit.
Some painters like to place a piece of lelt under the paper on which they are painting. This is all right for a quick painting in the xieyi style, but for n elaborate gongbi painting that takes a long time to finish, the felt may discolour the paper. A sheet of white paper inserted between the felt and the painting paper will prevent this. Newspaper can be used instead of felt, if need be.
A painter should also keep on hand seals and red ink paste. The seal stands for name or phrase and you can have one carved. The seal is usually supplied in a small case and the paste in a procelain container.The ink paste is usually reddish brown or bright vermilion. When using the seal, make sure that the red ink is spread evenly over the surface. Press the seal down quickly on the painting, but lift it up slowly. After use, wipe the seal clean with a piece of soft cloth before putting it back into the case. If you sue more than one seal, it is better to keep each one in a separate cloth or paper bag, with the upper part of the seal exposed for easy identification.