USING THE BRUSH AND THE INK
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Use of the brush
Some new brushes contain stiffening materials in the bristles. These must be washed out carefully (gentle manipulation of the brush hairs helps to speed the process) so that the brush is soft and pliable. Take care not to use hot water which may soften the glue which holds the brush into the handle.

Brush Loading
Correct brush loading requires time and patience. If it is
rushed then this fact will immediately be evident from the
brush strokes, so always be specially careful to load
correctly.
Most strokes require the full bristle length of the brush
so ink or paint must be mixed to the correct consistency in
a fairly shallow bowl or plate with an edge large enough to
accomodate the bristles. Then, roll the brush between the
fingers so that the bristles are fully soaked with paint.
Maintaining the brush point at all times, gently scrape the
outside surplus off the brush by stroking the bristles against
the plate edge; this also serves to push the liquid into the
centre of the bristles. Repeat this soaking and stroking
procedure several times until the brush contains the
amount of liquid necessary to achieve the desired brush
strokes. These instructions are basic to brush loading, but
the ink varies in intensity as required for the dry brush
strokes used in landscape painting, the wet strokes
that make large leaves, or the thin lines required
to indicate boats or people.
Wet Brush Strokes (Brush loaded with a lot of ink). The ink
runs loosely into the paper.
Medium Brush Stroke The edge of the stroke is clear and
, clean.Dry Brush Stroke (Very little ink on the brush). The brush
skims the paper, thereby allowing the brush to miss the
paper in some places. This is sometimes called 'flying
white¡¦ and can be used to show the grain of a tree or the
texture of a mountain. Great care should be taken not to
use this technique excessively.
Graduation of tone in one brush stroke is best illustrated
in the colour plates.
A common difficulty occurs when changing from a wet
brush stroke to a dry one. Following a series of large wet
Strokes it is best to remove all surplus liquid by blotting on
tissue or squeezing the bristles gently before loading again
for the dry stroke. Remember always to maintain the
brush point; some Chinese painters lick their brushes
continuously to keep them in shape, but this has its dangers
when using poisonous pigment colours. As with all the' techniques of this traditional art form, only practice will
enable the painter to judge whether the brush is loaded
correctly. It is as well to remember also that all stroke
painting errors need not necessarily be due to incorrect
brush loading, as many other factors are involved which
. will be dealt with later in the book. Next page