fuji, the wisteria

Wisteria takes pride in its twisted contours: the more aged and entwined it is, the more venerated the vine. Always, too, the aged wisteria vine affords linear contrasts with its curly new tendrils, which each year become more twisted. The wisteria with white or purple blossoms in full bloom is very beautiful, but is also an interesting sumi subject in the late autumn when the flower turns to pods, dried and brown.

The vine (Fig. 1) is painted with a large soft brush dipped on one side in tamboku and on the other in noboku. With a fluent motion of the brush, held on its side mokkotsu style, the twisting of the vine is felt while the brush is directed in turns and curves on the paper. While the heavy vine is still damp, change to a small hard brush and noboku and paint the young tendrils like quick threads leading from the vine, twisting and changing the direction of the brush. These new little shoots are curly and springy, accentuating the aged solidity of the main vine.

The structure of the foliage, as shown in Fig. 2, is a series of oval leaves, graduating in size, attached to a sweeping main stem. The stem is a noboku line while the leaves are painted with a soft brush filled with tamboku and noboku. Each leaf is one stroke, with more pressure in the middle of the stroke to form the widest part of the leaf. These strokes are directed away from the stem line on either side. Usually, for the sake of interest, one side will be more clearly defined than the other. Since all foliage on any tree or plant is rarely in the same condition of growth, make good use of this natural design by duplicating the variety in twisting some stems and barely indicating some of the leaves.

For the cluster of blossoms (Fig. 3), use a soft brush filled with black, or with rich tones of purple as shown here. Keeping the richest tones of the newly loaded brush in the heaviest part of the cluster, begin the blossoms with two side strokes close together. Repeating these two strokes, build the cluster of blossoms downward and, as the paint weakens on the brush, work towards the edges, being careful not to form too even an outline of the flower mass and becoming freer in technique at the same time. Thus, as the blossoms become smaller, they become less well defined and paler in tone. Reaching the lower tip of the cluster, another brush is selected, this time a small one dipped in the richest tone of purple or black, and used to touch in the unopened buds with quick pressure strokes, unevenly placed and tapering toward the very tip.

The stem is now added with noboku and a hard brush, beginning from the top and continuing in broken sections which follow the graceful line of the blossoms. Little stems branch off the main stem to support, or appear to support, the flowers and buds.

For a completed wisteria painting, see the next page.

A completed wisteria painting, with the twirling interest in the vine, plus the soft purple clusters of blossoms and the graceful foliage, is a very satisfying and beautiful work. Careful planning must be given to the general placement on the paper. It is well to sketch the basic plan on a separate sketch paper first, or plan the painting from one of the sketches made of wisteria in the sketchbook. Again, it is much more interesting to strive for an asymmetrical balance on the paper rather than to center the subject matter. Keep groupings of flowers and leaves together in interesting counterbalance with the vine area and white paper.