West Meets East Jean Rewa - Fall 2008 Issue of Horses in Art Magazine

West Meets East

by Jeanne Rewa

Dressage Horse – Chinese Brush Painting, 14 x 20, by Jeanne Rewa.
When I went to China in 2004, I was eager to learn more about the important role horses have played in Chinese history, art, language, and culture. I was drawn to brush painting by the intensity of what could be conveyed with the most simple of brush strokes. I knew I just had to try it.

I never had instruction in Chinese brush painting, and have only had one formal art class in drawing. During my two years in China I spent time poring over art books, watching local artists at work and examining contemporary and antique pieces in museums and shops.

Back at home I immediately found the broad, expressive nature of Chinese brush painting both liberating and incredibly challenging. With my graphite pencil drawings I try to accurately portray the tiniest details of one particular horse. In Chinese brush painting, on the other hand, your painting is not meant to represent one particular horse, but all horses. The motion, the energy should make your painting surge with the essence of horse-ness.

Chinese brush painting techniques are dramatically different than what I am accustomed to with graphite pencil. For example, I had to forget what I knew about light sources. In Chinese brush painting, shadows are used to accentuate forms, without regard to a single light source, much in the same way a single Chinese landscape painting may include trees as seen in all four seasons – that would not exist in reality.

Another challenge to Chinese brush painting is its combination of several arts including painting, calligraphy, and seal carving. The beauty of a piece is accentuated by the addition of calligraphy, which could be a title, a poem, an idiom, or other words of inspiration or wisdom. I spent many hours working on improving my Chinese calligraphy, as well as researching the special part the horse plays in Chinese language.

Maiya – Graphite Pencil, 6 x 7, by Jeanne Rewa.

The imprints of stone seals are added to the paintings to serve as the artist’s signature, to contribute a feeling or sentiment about the piece, and to create a pleasing visual balance. I purchased many antique and new seals, watched seal carvers at work, and eventually began creating my own seals. On the Dressage Horse painting, the largest seal on the right is my name, used as my signature, and was carved by a professional artist in China. The other seals I carved myself. On the left, the oval seal says “horse power,” while the small, round one on the right is a character meaning “fine steed.”

Combining Chinese style and techniques with my understanding of horse anatomy and motion resulted in such pieces as Dressage Horse. This piece has clear elements of the traditional Chinese style, but a subject which was born of the West – a dressage horse performing an amazing flying lead change - meant to express the essence of what a dressage horse is.

During my years in China, I had no opportunities for personal interaction with horses. When I returned to the U.S.A., I discovered that without close relationships with individual horses, each horse had begun to represent all horses again, and in each animal I saw the “horse-ness” that I tried to express in my Chinese brush painting. This perspective has affected my work in other media, especially as I choose a subject for a piece. I still work in highly detailed graphite pencil, but I’ve also added water-soluble graphite to my list of favorite media. The water-soluble graphite gives me the control I love, but also allows me to loosen up and create a soft, fluid look inspired by the flow of ink from the Chinese brush.

Visit Jeanne’s web site at www.eajr.com to view more of her work.

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