birds: the sparrow

The little brown sparrow adds a bit of animation to many an Oriental painting. Huddled on a snowy pine branch or content among the bamboo, it contributes to seasonal atmosphere by adding warmth and life. Since in sumi painting we wish mainly to catch the bird's animated spirit, we do not paint it in great detail, but knowing its construction through observation, we attempt to indicate the quick movements of the little body through the strokes of the brush.

Start with a small, soft brush dipped on alternate sides in the middle and the darkest tones with perhaps a touch of brown. With two wash strokes, side by side, paint the top of the bird's head. Change to a small hard brush dipped in noboku and with two sembyo strokes paint the beak to establish the tilt of the bird's head. While the eyes are two quick daubs of the brush, their intentional irregularities serve to give the bird its spirit and personality and add to the quick, fleeting appearance.

After establishing the position of the head, the twist of the body is determined first of all by the placement and the direction of the chest bone. The small hard brush is loaded with middle and dark tones of sumi. The chest bone is one pressure stroke of the dark side of the brush, followed on either side, with broad strokes directed away from the chest bone. Each of these strokes will differ in size depending on the angle of the bird's body. Building from this, with a soft brush and chuboku and tamboku, paint the soft feathers covering the body in upward strokes which taper towards the tail. Tips of the body feathers are accented with touches of noboku.

The tail feathers are composed of two strong downward strokes, essentially straight and close together yet separated by a bit of white. This is a difficult skill requiring practiced control of the brush.

When painting the delicate feet of a little bird such as the sparrow, bear in mind that, unlike larger birds and fowl who walk and swim, these are hopping birds, and the little claws are close together and appear fragile. They need not be painted in great detail, but quite freely sketched in after their position has been decided upon.

It will be evident to the artist that putting all these strokes together will require not only some structural knowledge of the bird, but also a familiarity with its motions and habits. Store up mental pictures continually when observing birds—the tilt of the head, the position of the feet and wings in flight. The fleeting motions of birds are truly compatible with ink painting.