Unlike previous exercises where we use only ink, here we mix Chinese colors and ink to depict pine trees in the Sierra Mountains. This way of painting is called non-bone method. In this chapter, the large waterfall, mossy oak tree and backlit trees exercises used the non-bone technique. This is a common technique used by many modern Chinese painters.
1 Load Burnt Sienna on a medium brush and then dip it in dark ink from its tip to its middle. Hold it sideways and paint the trunk from top to bottom. Reload the brush with more dark ink and indicate the branches, leaving white areas for the snow.
2 Load midtone ink and Indigo on a medium brush, then dip the tip in a little dark ink to paint the foliage with center and side strokes. Paint continuously until you achieve dry-brush strokes that suggest needle-shaped pine leaves. Reload the brush and continue painting foliage in this same way, about 4 times until it’s completed. Use a small brush loaded with Burnt Sienna and midtone ink to indicate the small trees in the background.
3 Use a medium brush to paint the foliage in the background trees in the same way as step 2 but with lighter ink and Indigo pigments.
4 Use a small brush to suggest the distant trees with light Indigo and light ink. Use a medium-sized brush and light Indigo to indicate the front ridge and the distant background trees. The foreground is watered down Indigo, as well.