Chinese Brush Painting Course

What you'll learn

Learn Chinese ink painting with our painting courses in Sydney!

Chinese brush painting merges calligraphy and painting with ink and brush, rooted deeply in Chinese culture and history. This course invites you to explore this art form and understand the Four Gentlemen (or Four Noble Ones) in Chinese plant painting: Plum Blossom for Winter, Orchid for Spring, Bamboo for Summer, and Chrysanthemum for Autumn. Each plant symbolises a season and enriches your ability to capture seasonal essence in your work.

Your tutor will guide you in essential techniques such as brush control, calligraphy, and ink and water management, using sample artwork for inspiration. Whether you’re a beginner or have some art experience, this course offers a rewarding journey into traditional Chinese painting, broadening your artistic perspective.

Each course focuses on a specific season: Winter (Plum Blossom), Spring (Orchid), Summer (Bamboo), and Autumn (Chrysanthemum).

Learning outcomes

By the end of this Chinese painting course, you should be able to:

• Have an understanding of the history behind the 4 classical Chinese painting categories: figures, birds, plants & landscape
• Understand the symbolic meaning in Chinese plant painting: Representing 4 Seasons from Winter-Plum, Spring-Orchid, Summer-Bamboo, Autumn- Chrysanthemum.
• Use ink and water to create light and shade in your painting
• Create a painting combining calligraphy skills and brush techniques

After finishing this course, you might like to enrol in one of our Calligraphy Courses. 

Course content

What will be covered in this Chinese Brush Painting Course?

• Brush control and calligraphy skills: This involves learning how to handle the brush effectively and mastering calligraphy techniques. These skills are crucial for creating different brushstrokes and achieving desired effects in bamboo painting.
• Ink and water control: A key aspect of painting a picture of bamboo is finding the right balance between ink and water to achieve the desired darkness and shading. You will learn how to adjust the proportion of ink and water to create varying tones and textures in your bamboo artwork.
• Bamboo stems and branches: This part of the course focuses on mastering the techniques for depicting bamboo stems and branches. You will learn how to control brush movements and apply the correct ink darkness to accurately represent these elements of bamboo.
• Leaves and combination: Starting with a single bamboo leaf, you will gradually progress to painting combinations of multiple leaf bunches. This will allow you to develop your skills in depicting different leaf shapes, sizes, and arrangements while maintaining a cohesive composition.
• Copying a small-scale bamboo painting: As part of the course, you may have the opportunity to replicate a small-scale bamboo painting provided by the teacher. This exercise helps you apply the skills you've learned and gain practical experience in creating bamboo artwork.

Intended audience

Who is this Chinese Brush Painting Course for? 

This course is open to beginners and individuals with previous calligraphy experience or any artist looking to explore a new style of art.

Course venue

Rozelle Campus

2A Gordon Street, Rozelle NSW 2039 (corner of Gordon St & Victoria Rd on the grounds of St. Joseph's Church)

Course materials

If you wish to use your own materials please bring the following:

•  1 × medium line brush (brown hair), 1 × smaller line brush (brown)
•  Chinese paper (roll or pad)
•  Chinese ink

Brushes, ink and Chinese paper are provided. 

Additional information

• Closed-in shoes required
• Please wear old clothes and/or bring an apron
• Long hair must be tied back