While researching the life of Dong Kingman I noticed a variation in his brush grip peculiar to those trained in Chinese calligraphy and sumi-e style painting.

The original Chinese writing system was in the form of pictograms, tiny little abbreviated images of people and things called the hànzi characters. They are composed of thick and thin stylized lines that a brush makes. (To learn about sumi-e painting start here.)

Western cultures have long depended on pens and pencils for handwriting and drawing, but the handwriting of many eastern cultures is based on the brush and ink.

A stick with a singular point, i.e. a pencil or pen, requires you to apply pressure as you write and so demands a strong grip, so when we grab a brush we invariably go for the "Classic" grip. Just like we were getting ready to draw.

In fact, early European watercolors were called watercolor drawings with washes tinting a drawing base.

The classic grip works fine for the most part but it also requires more effort and has less range of motion and expression than the sumi-e lock.

By shifting your brush position from the top of your index finger to the bottom of your index finger (see example) your grip becomes less severe, allowing controlled fluid movement.

I noticed Mr. Kingman often held his brush this way when "writing" his figures, birds and other expressive details in his famous works.

The 1954 James Wong Howe film Dong Kingman has many scenes of the artist at work en plein air as well as working at home in his studio.

Try this grip when painting small areas and details like figures, birds, or architectural elements in your painting. You will get more range of movement and "snap" to your brushwork.