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aQaneseInk Paintinc

TheArr ofSurn(-e

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3Q3neseInkPaintin

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TheArr ofSumf-e. .

Naomi Okamoto

II stmblgPubliobing ce.,IDe. New York

Tt111Uhutd by 1:1tsabtth E. Rtlnrrstf\J.nn

Okamoco.Saord. 19' 1-Uap;anlsc:M Tuschnuk rd ft!r EinmiatT. t:nltish)j ' pl ndr ink p;&1nt1ng: thc=art of sumi-r-' N.tOmlOb m

p. em.Includn icdtx.ISBNl).8069.O832·7L Swnit- Trchniqur. I. 'rule.

:'\OH62 .03813 1995" I. ...252-dc2 0 9+-1-.

10 987654)2 1

Pub1lWd 199' byS.. dmg PublW1ln&0>_ .1=381 PIne t'a'tn\1e Sowh.NfWYork. N.Y. 10016Orlllinall)' publUh<dby "-"" \',~ Aupbu'llt.mdu tht UtleJap:tnlslMTluthlltQltm ji, Euutttp.Ellt ~!al.b l'f ilt ltupftfnC>1993 byw,w,; ld \'rrlag GmbH.~£n&lWttN-wdan C 1995 ~. Str rbns Publl!hma Co.• IncDiftnbtntd in C.r.»dab)'SltrlmS Publishing% Canadian Mandt GroL1p. Ont At1cu1c"" 'f lU)( . s..dtt 10'Toronto. On:ario. CtJu,r;b M6K 3F.7Dlltn1Mrd In Gm.t Briuin md F..wopt b)' Cusdl PLC\'1ll1trJ. HOUH. +lIi 1 Sl'tUld..l.ondon WO N '5J£' EnPr.df>l5tributtd in Aw:.-alllb}' Capricorn u nk (Au:stralia) Pt).P.O. Box66'1 . BauUchamHWs. SualusJCenree.~')W 21'53. AultraliJPri"lrd 411dimlld 1ft HongK.oftJAll rfA'!ts Ttm\yJ,

Sttrilns ISBN G-8069.()83l ·7

CONTENTS"

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L'ffilO DliCTION. .. .. ... ... . .. 6

THE&ISICS.. .. . . . . .. .. .. . .. . 8

8a<"xro"nd andEm"",oj]apttnt:$(Ii'll!Alfnril'lg . . . . . . .. 8PcIinri'lSUttl'l$lls 10

Tht Bru..h . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . 10Grinding Ink 11Ink- The L1quld Produced

!tomthe Ink Srick 1JAdditionalAlds " 12

TittPGiMfng SurJac.c-Choroc""" lcs and effects . . . . 1J

Paper '" 13P'p<' 0' Suk. . .. .. . . . . . . . . . . 13How Ink 8<ho"e. on

Untreated Gucn-shi 16\\brill.s wl,h 1.~ and Brush 18

Grinding and Preparinglnk 18FUling the Brush. .. . .. . .. . .. 19Brush Con"" I-II ow to Hold

the Handleora Brush .. 19Brushje ehntque 19

PAINTINGTECIll\~QlifS 22PracticingLints. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22The FirstStrokeSteorne! il

Fish 23The Second Experiment:The

Orchid 2'the ThirdExperiment:

BlUllboo . . . . . . • . .. .. . .. • . • 27The Fourth Experlmenr. The

Plum-Tree8nnch 30Addll1ona1Pro<uce 32

Excmsa Jo' C""ring Spo" J7Wflh LhtSnuh Held 41 an Angle.AI ' f lo, on rlt' !Ill'<' J 7

Poppy J 7

RolOring'h, Handk oj ,heBru' h J9The Crocus 39Tulip iOMagnolia 'II

LaWArtas Pclnud in Two5,roJru . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 'fJ

I", 'fJAnthurium 4.5

RoughOudlJ'lt withOnt Srroltt 46Promontory 7

PA1:-<'TlliGOBJECTS 48

Srill LlJ'I. r~ !IllnrinS' 48Landscapesin 'n_ Paintings 56

A Srudyof Trees ' 7Thd lUdr of Rocks _ 62Spacetn • Ltndscar. ' 61-TheComposition0 a Plinring 64Rdlcctions in the Water 66SDO"SClpt.... ....••.. .. ..•• 66Mort' Landscapes . . • • • . . . . • • • 70

FromSkttddng CDA:rinriftg 73

PAll\'TlKG WITH COLOR. . . . . . 77

111, Rol, oj Colo' . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 77

WhIchColo' Is Appropria,, ' . . . .. 78PR.ICT1CEMOTIFS 82

~::;M:'riJ'. a~~ .M•.~u. 87

}IOlJl\'TlNG A Fll'<lSHEDPA"'\'Tl:-lG 90

MOlmtfng InstnlCrio,lS 91

How to Can·t 4 Stal 92

IVhcrt 10 PIac, rltt Stol 9JMy Scols 9J

"" CONCLliSIO:-l. . . . . . . . . . . . . 94","'DElC .. . . . .. . .. .. • . . . . .. . . . 96

INTRODUCTION

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Some tlme ~'O. 1decided thai J"~.mted to write a bookabout j apa­nese ink painting. also knooi\-" as,.umf-f. In the beginning. I thought I..-ouJd fi", d,,~lop my own 51)i <and use the pictures I painte d inthat .5[}-k as a means of introducmgthe art of JapaDC'Kink painting topeople of Other cultures. E\"tnthough manythought dl!s couldn'tbe done. 1bt lir\yd it was possibleb)' pointing to w-hatJapanese inkpainting lw in common .....hh other.t}i .. of palntlng and by pali ng at­tendon to our subjecdve tmpres­. ions. Mer all, paintlng is basicallyan immediate expression of the sub­jecdve: human feelings art not allthat different. &tsldcs. the Spon tll­necus. expreestve character and thevisual ..esthedcs oCink paintingmake it \'fl') ' accessible to the mod­em Western\1e-wer. 1believethatsuml-t ,,111continue to stem str'.J.ngc115long as we try to understand Itsu:lcd)' from an Intellectual, rhecrer­k al point of vt ew. In addition to itssubjccd\"t Sfnsld\1t).. ItSp ee andbtll Ut)' (sdUof great significance inthe Japanese culture} could be thecommonground on which to meet.t am comin ctd th::uwhatever seemsforeign in ink ~Inrings can be~"trcomc b)' diKo.-rring rheir In­herent btaut)'.

Ajapa nese philosophu cnce said."Beauty is not only wh.n looks

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cheerful; rather; it is the result of amental process. &e:aut)· is • giftofrn•. presem "~ry day. gmngJo}'and hope to life. It cxpreS5tS thtcharacte r of the artist ; it Is JO\"t.Thissubjtcti\ -e undcl'$tanding of theil6thni cs of beauty has a!v.'l}" beenat the hem of DJ)' work. IS a Stu­dent of West ern painting and evenbefore t began Illy Intense in\'Oh-r­mtnt wah ink palmJng. I am con·seemly U)ing to IncrtI.K my under­standing of the secret of beauty."

All this started when t rcaltud tha tin the:absence of anistic skillsandbeauty, p3indng lU it Lspresentlypra used in the West can onl )' beseen a5 an expresstcn of eccentricIdeas and a deplcdon of problems.such as the portrayalof the superfi­ctsl. On the other hand, I am awarethat in the West. too , people longfor quiet, freedom. harmon).. and!>taut)"as antidotes to the alienationso prevalent in our ttchnological se­d et}·. In spue of the Calorthat ourculturalbackgrounds are differtntand Wt }"OUapproach art from adifJ'ertnt viewpo int . rou. tOO. arefascinated b)- the d ear forms thatarecreated in the empdness ofspace. ccnr'q i ng the presence ofeternal quit t. Regrettably, I tun'tbeen unablt to find mr cen formof expresstcn. Xt\'t rthdw . t ha\'tbeen able to create paintings OUt toJapanese culture b)' incorpor.ating

indMdually what seemed unlamiIWandby transforming and bl<nding It"1mthe traditional. In order for)"OUto gain access to this sryleofpainting. you " iII eeed dear in­nructicms. t believetha t it would behelpful for me to shue "ith }"OU theexpeneeces and InsightsI "" ..gained. Theywill SCI'\'t as guidesas}"OUcontinue to de\-elop rour an . llfke to compare this process to agrowing bambootree tha t de\'t.lopsnew nodulesas it gTOW'S.

In this spirtt, the knowledg. ofsumi-t that 1 havegained 50 far iscontained in this book. It is mywish that the discussions that £allowbe received by your heart. 1hopeyeu willbe able to develop a 5C:Nt

of the Intuim-c process as you be­come mort and more familiarwtththl" an form.

Let', be on our wayl

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THEBASICSBackgroundand EssenceofJapanese InkPaintingIn order to get a clear KnK ofwhat ink painting Is all about..Ith ink It is US(fulto look at the dif·ferences between this style and\\~stcm paindng. The gOliof clas­steal W~tcm paintingis to depictthe world and its objects as rulisti .all) ' as possible. To aeblece thargoal. it has developed a prectsestructure of foreground. background.and central object. creating a three­dimcrislonal perspective . This styleof painting needs Ught. shadow.and. most of all color. Ink paintinguses none of these aids . Eventhou&hit . 100 . dep icts a \;C'\\ ' of theworld. irs goal is not to produce afu 1istic picture of it. but rather linexpression of the perception II

painter wants to coD\"t)". It is an at­tempt to capture. in condensedform. the 65C'n c of an object, apt:I'SOO, or a landscape as seenth.rou&hthe' q 'cs of tht patnrer, Forthat reasce, "'ggatlon pb).. . ke)'role. Suggestion and simplificationin a painting impl)' reality.

In Jl pmt:Stink paintings "'C!«

the traditionalaesthetics of stmpllc­it}' combined '\lith a distinct em­phasis on intuitive ~xpres!ion. Asenseof harmon)'. so t)l' ical in -j ap­anese culture. J)([\"3 d 6 every scene.This explains why paintings that de-

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ptct OO\\-er5.birds. and landscapesare:so popular.

ThisSlYle of painting. heavlly Influ­enced by Zen Buddhism, uses onlyblack ink. Hcwever , according toOriental undemand ing. black Ink Isnot simply black. It has IIWl)" dif­ferent shades. representing thehighestlevel of color stmpllficadcn.

Differtnt degrees in tone do notrepresent different shades of Ughtorbrightness: rather. they produce anP":I.rtnUS of color b). creating.contrllJt..ith the:..-bitesurface. Thisis what gl\-e:s• painting the appear­ance of color. The tones also S(J"'e

15 an immediate expressionof eree-

dons, mirroring the intenstt)· of theinterest the painter brings to thework. In a sense, it is tht procnsthat gi\"essvmf.c its expresslonisticcharacter.

In addition. the "itite: surfaceof thepictur e is DOt simply an open spacele&after thetheme of thepicturehas been established.as is often thecase in Western paintings. instead.it is an essential pan of the:pleturt.White surfaces come alh-eand pindepth when thq. become one withan object and a tt chnique. crntinga form.

For example. supposechatas you....-atch a wild flower your heart 15

touched1»' Its \1ta1ll)" As the raeli·ante:of the ink I.suansfe:rre:dco the:paper "'iUtchtstrOkeof a brush.the I lewer in )"OUl'p iCWR seems to"breathe," and this breath begins totill the white space sunounding it.just as It docs In nature. in inkpaintings. a line docs not representthe contour or W outer edge of tform:rather; it represents the innerJXW'"tt of tht painted form itself. Itrepresents soul.spirit. and liferhythmill at once,

Aher this an form arri\-edin Japanf",m ChIna, It ..... hca\11yInDu·enced 1»'Taoism and cspccla1IybyZen Buddhism.The concept of

TH l B ASI CS

"whi te space" Is a direct expressionof Taolsmand Zen 'Buddhlsm. Theunderstanding of tTlO\-ement. of the"real" nCMing and d.Issohi ng InfO··nothingncss.·· and the existence of"emptiness ' are of central signUi.cance to both beliefs.

The essential character of ink paint .Ing. expressingthe d)'tWll1cso( !Ue,is. quite pcwlbl}".a forc:tgnconceptfor Westernartists. because }"OUhave to become one \\;t h the objectin the palnung, 1n Western pain t.ing.s.)"OU.arc not the~·er. HO'o'"ever, picture )'OUl><lCpain ting OUt·stde. Sense the nl)'S of the .sunon)"OUt skin; let )"OW' C)'Cs get lnt o

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the distance. Thi5is a momentwhen you btgin to become onewith the newer.

Or think of music. Landscapes,birds , and rocks an: notes createdin nature. First )0'00 study the notes.next you practice on }'0Uf instru­~nt. and then }"OUremotionsplaythese DOtrS .

When )'OU experiencehowthegentle , tender shades of the ink anda simplt lint , created from a stateof Inner quiet. ere tramformed andexpttSSthe most po'IIo-erfule.ntrgy.)'00 \\; ll ha\~ • sense of what thesephilosophies arc ill ahouL

"'P ,.ssIoll than oth<' btu5b<s.However; in a pinch, it is okl}' toUS< a collJ&rapby brush.

Paindng and calligraphy brushesmade In the Or ieru come In differ­ent shapn. lengths , and t)'P" ofhair. Goat. sheep, horse. badger,deer, weasel. bear. wolf, and rabbithair are used. Usuallywhite-hairedbrush" are made from sbeep. goar,and horse hair. Brown-hadredbrushes are made from harK.badger, bur . weasel. wotl, and detrhair. Halr from the'sununt:rfurofall .n lrn. !s is sdfftr than that from Iwinter fur. Shte p and goat blir are:both C<lIlSld.ttd soft.So",",,""',stif­fer is hair from the weasel andbadger. Consld. rably stiff" 15hairfrom mountainhorses.

Brushc:s made fromSO£t hair art

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A supple brash allav."5)"OUto ex­pr6S in visual form almost ID)-mingyour heart can feel. The rype ofbrush and the way it is used . 110\\'you to exprells many difftr~t nu­ances in one Hne, something notpossible wtth crdmary brushes. Youcan create different tonal \" lues aswell as change the shape or form.all \\ithln one stroke. It is l1'UC that• warercclcr brush made from mar­ten ha ir can also be quite hand)·.Hcweve t , rh1stype of brush. 1><­cause of its com uuetion . dotS nothold enccgh Ink and 15toO springyfor ink painting.

It ts tmportam to use brushes s~cif­

Ically made Cor sumi-e. becausetheseShoe)'OU a greater range of

TheBrush

J " P" %'I1SE INK P AINT ING

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Nothing Is compUcatedabout thertUltcrlals neceuary Cor lnk painting.and they are Inexpensive. Hu e is ashort list:

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PaintingUtensils

Ul<milr

1. pcli.rbnull2. inJtsto"~ or grindfngSlOnt

3. hs. sdd... wartT})owfJ­, . "mon cloth6. platt7. paptrwdghf

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more difficult to handle. Therefore,1 recommend that begin ncrs UR astlfferbrush. Althoughnunl' differ­ent brushes on the market oftenlook tempting. 1always ccme backto the brush that alL:m., me to ae ­ate shapes ranglng all the ""l - froma thin halrUm:to a broad stroke.

J"l""'OK Choryu B".. hThisIs one of th< trall1rlona1lnkbrushes. Usuall)', It Is made fromsheep or goat hair.occasionally,somewhat stiffn badger, berse. ordeer hair Is ustd. Thisbrush hassoh. pliable bristles and a goodabilit),to hold wa ter. HCM'(\ 'er. be­cause of iu softness, the shape of aline:tnJ}' change when prtl5UR isapplied to the surface, Becauseof abrush's excellent absorbmC).. it isoften difficult to control the amountof water In the bristles,

Japa nOKMuuyoma BruJIl(Gyolturm)Usually. this brush Is made from th<belly halr oCa horse with an addi­don of badger, sheep. and deer hair,It 15firmer thanthe Ororyuand has• slight point , making It Id.. l forcreatingshapes, HO\\'(\"Cr. this brushis not yee I\-..Ilable in all areas.

ChlnOK Ran-clllku B"..hThis brush. made from badger hair.lw less capacitYto hold water andis somewhatstifferthan the twobrushes discussedabo\'t. It is ~..ellsuited for cnadng shapesIn roughoutlincand Cor suong, bony OUt­

lines.

All three brushes discuss<dherecome in rhree dlffen:ntsizes, Thelength of th<hair Is 11" Inches (tem) for lazgebrushes, 1V. Inches(3.' em) fot mtdium brushes, andaboul 1 inch (3 em) for smallbrushes, The smallest of the:three 15\'Clj ' handy but, because of It! see.

T HE BASICS

tends to 10Kink \"I:1J qui kl)'. Be­cause the ink has to be replacedmore frequently. there is ohcn 1U\uneven and "restless" appearanceto the paindng. On the other hand.the lazgeslbrush Is tlCl quit< aselS)' to handl e. H(J\\'e\'t r, It is pesst­ble to draw with it the vtr}' finestline 1U\d to 6ll in large spaces. Ad,ditionally. this brush lasts for a longtime. In the beginning, we art in ­terested in learning 10 master thetools. I eeuevewe learn fasterwhena too! is not quite IS eas)"to handle.Thus. I recommend thaI th<begin­ner Stan wuh the largut brush.

The bristles of a new brush an CC'o'­ered uith I coat of glue. Thiscoat­Ing Is remeced b)' clipping the brushin cold wa ter and squeuing thtbristles gendr between the fingers.Soapis not necessary. Do not It.l\'tthe brush Stan ding in water. or thebnsdes " ill bend and separat< fromthe shaf~ Aft<tthe glue has beenrt.mO'+'edL"Omthe bristles. gentl)·shape the end of the brush into atip. Let the brush dry by layingIIdown or b)' hanging it with thebristles polnring downv.'ards. Whenthe bristles are dry. store the brushin a place where it will receivesome air and make sure It 15pro­rected against moths,

When you purchase. new brush. asleevececers the bristles. Thissleeve Is 001)'prorectlcn and notmeant for permanent use.

Grinding Ink

The best Ink for Ink painting ismade from pigments that artprC55Cdinto a stick. The srick isground. combined v.ith water. andmixed into • usable liquid. Ink

.stones. or grinding stones. come indifferent shapes. from round to 0'0"11to rectangular. for the beginner. an

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ink stone dun is :lpproxlm:,ucly 3 by5 Inches (8 by 13 cm) and deeperon one end is very practical. Moststones are made from :I particularkind of slate and art of different ,qualllY.depending on the grid ofthe surface. The most famous Sloneis the Chinese Tan-hi .

If the surface of the stone is tOOrough.the p'.gmentpanicles homthe stick will not dissol\'t prcperly,and the ink loses its brilliance.

Ink - The LiquidProduced from the InkStick

The soul of the ink is the po'Yt'er oCits brilliance and Its rich numces.Sunil.. primarily dlsdngutshcs be­tween blue and brown ink sticks. .The so-calledblue ink Is made fromthe SOOt of burned pine wood, Inthe process of burning, blue inksticks are ccntamlne ted with roughpanicles that leave scratches on thesurface of the ink stone. However.this alsoincreases the amount ofnuances in blue ink. The finer, sof­ter bl'O\\'I1ink does not haveasmany nuances. Becauseblue inkdoesn't reflect Hghr verywell. It lip­pears to be black with a bIU( hue.Blue ink is \'try popular in Japan.Brownink Is usuallyproduced fromthe soot of rapeseed 011. The pig­ment particles an: much smallerthanthese in blue ink and reflectmore Ilgh~ ThisInk has • browntint and seems to be warm and1£\"1:1)'. Chinese paintersand calligra­phers are \-ery fond of b~l1 ink.

In addition to pigment particles, inksticks alsocontain animal fats thatare usedas glues. These animalCal!absorb humld!')- ' ''lj' quickly. whlchmalus them susceptible to mUdew,rendering them useless. It is impor·

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WU (0 dry and ""lap an ink.suckaft.. It has been used. Ink sticksarehigbly sees I", .. . Theycan dry out,

be ornebrtrde. and eeen burstapart, Becaustof the fat cement, 1£a sdclc.rrmains moist for a longpe­riod of timt. it will stick to a sur­Isee, for instance that of the inkSlOCr. The stone must at\\"').,becleaned under nmning water. Makesure that all ink particlesartremceed.

Do !lOtuse liquefied Ink that hasbeen standing around for somerime, because the pigment will sep­arate from the water. This can hap.()(n relam'tly quickly during thesumln<r. Old Ink becomes dull andIos<sit< brilll>ncc. Alwaj'SStartfra h Uany length of time haselapsedbetween paintingsessions.

In addidnn 10 the [\\' '0 types of inksdi.scuskd 50 far. there an ready­made liquid Inks av..tlable. Theyareless expeesh.. than Ink sticks and~rc no preparation time . TheseInks .... usually used In calJIgnphy.where only the most intense shadesare needed . Pigment panic les Inready-madeliquid Ink ... largerthan thost in ink made on an Inknee e, bUI for tha t reason they artless:reflective and appear to be rNlyblack. This Ink Is ''' Id of .Unu­ances. When compared to ink madeon an ink stone. this type of ink ap·pears to be less three-d imens ionaland, therefore, fiat.

Uyeer goal t.s10 dtscccer the soulof ink painting. t saongly reccm­mend that r oo grind }'our own ink.The prottSSstems cumbersome.but the monotony of gtindlng aspan of the preparation Is hclpfullnpining ,,.Juable Inner quiet, OutIngthe processof gtindIng.roomightwant to "isualiu the picture that isto be paimed. As )'00 " ill quickl)'di5c~"er. W actual process or~nting must proceed without hest-

J APANl SE I w," P AI Nti NG

tatian. CorrecrionsJrt almost im­possible to make afterwards. Forthat nason, it is important to lcna;vprcclsc!ywbat and how )"OUw-ant topaint before )'OU .... ch for thebtuSh.

The tmeese brtlliance of the ink isthe mtdium with wh ich }"OU m.nsftr)'OUt own energy into the painting.Its variedshadingsare tht expres­sion oCyour heart . Do yeu want toexchangethese Cor the sakt oCcon­\-enience?

Additional Aids

Watn Contai.....You need a containu to clean yecrbrushesand a containerto grindtht ink. M.akesure theft conmint:rsdon't hav... harp edges that coulddamagethe bristlesof rour brushes.Furthumort . the containers have tobe absoIurcly fr•• of lll) ' grease.When Cat coma in ccmecr '\\ithbrtsdes. tM bristles separate. andthe brush loses it< tip. In addition.It becomes difficult to echrece subtleshading.

ColtO. RagsA cotton rag .Uow, }'Ou to controlthe smount of Uquid In )"OUr brush,Immerse the rag in water and wringit OUt well. It is easier to control theamou.ntor ink in your brush with adamp rsg than with . drr one.

Wltiu PIauA white plate is used to dilute andmix di.B'trmt.shades of ink. A ,,-bittplate is usedbecauseit Is e:&S}' tosee zheshape of the tip of the brushand to judge the intensity of Ink on• "'hite swfa e. in order to ha\'tenoughspace to worle..use a platethat measures at least 6 to 8 inches(15 to 20 em) in diameter .

I'tIdThebest materialto use Cora padisCelt. HO'o·ew:r. )'0\1 an alsouse anold pieceof • rug.Since the Ink­water mixturts )'0\1 usc are easilyabsorbedby the relam..lythin pa­per• • hardersurface wccld createpuddleson the surfaceof the pad.and that is not \'el')~ helpful Fur­th'rmore• • hard pad makesIt morediffi~t for deUa te bristles to tnCJ\"C

acrcss the paper. causing the ink (0

run sld~'I)'S.

PqerwdghtA paperweight is necessary to keepthe p.per In place. In Ucoof • pap'erweight, you can also usc smallrocks• • metalwdght. or any othersuitable hem.

THE BASICS 13

f($Wufrom the same brand of pt.per, In addition. because of ccn­cerns for the emironmrn t. otherrawmaterials are nov.' bring lIdde:dduringtht mam'facnuing rrocw.E\'tn if the brand name 0 a paperhas not changed for hU:ldreds o£run: . it lJ not a given that the­product bas not changrd. So. .. leerthebti t from v.:hat is :n.. ihabk

Plptr made for sumi-t is a\"ailublesized. uerrea ed, and in diffem\tthicknesses. If a paper is rough lindfeltllke, the Ink disperses rapidlyand appean:duUand lifeless. If. onthe other hand. tOOmuch swng hasbeen appUedto til< paper. It wt llbesmooth and shin)'. On this type ofpaper. ink willccllecr in puddles.be absorhed only .lowly, and It " ..unIntended dark 'po lS and edges.

Watercolor paints . howe\'er. retainmort of their bnlhance on this pa­per rhm. the) ' ....·ould on a more ao.

r) Japanrs<"'& "."..b) )apantSt paptr ....1rn mfnimKmsltfn8

Paper

e) SlanJr:newsprin"

The papar used for Ink paintings issomev.-"hat difficultto handle. 1MfaCt that it is cumbersome to tranS·

pon and to store tacreases its COSL

In the pas" papar for Ink paintinghas beee difficult to ccme b)' in theWen. parti<:uIarIy if a painter badcertain requin mentt. Hav.·t\-er.thingsba\.. Imp_d . and paperfrom China and Japan is now morereactil}'" ..Ilable. Papermade specif­Icallyfor Ink palnlings is as ,.. luableIn Asia as handmade papcr is.

Finding the right paper is difficult.The:number of manufacturtrs thatmake pape r for ink painting is rela­til..ly small and. because many dU­Ierem "rt d pe'" arc used. then arcmany t} 'pes of papar on the nwltet .Since ink is \'ef)' RMltn-eandreacts cUfferend}' to \"i1}in g degreesof humidit)·. don't c:xpc:ctthe same

4) Castn -.bi "."..

l'JIt tfftca o} 1M Oil cfiffnvlt l)"PC'oj po"..

The PaintingSurface­Characteristicsand Effects

scrbent paper. The best paper CorInk palndngs r<tains the brillianceof the color of 1Mink as wellas itstrtnspa.rtncy and the nuancesof irsshades.

Suchpaper is called Gast1HJii, It isl\"1ilablefromJapan as well as fromChina. Tracesof brush serokes.. ­main \is iblc on Gcum-sni. The dU·Ierent shadingsand th<brllliantt ofthe Ink at< also appar<nL ChInesepaper Is mort absorbent thanJapanese paper.

T,,"Oother fl\'Oritc papers art Kozo-.sill and ,\fa-mi. Brosh strOkesarenot as easUyvisible on these pa­pers.and they absorb waterasquickl)' as a blotter. Bothtypes ofpaper art particuLu{ysutred topaintingin powerful, dry suckes orco palndng in severallayers.

If you at< lookinglor IlOI1Ib$orbcntpaper for dttailtd ".. rk, U5t the pa­per called Torinol:o-shL Thispaperhas an eggshell color and a smoothsurface. You can blend contours andcreate gentle transi tions. HO'I\'C'·u.)'OU will sacrifice the intense. bril­liant. and uaasparent qualirit5andthe minuteshadings of me ink. Thepaper is stmtlar co fine.grainedwe­tercclcr ~per.

When in doubt. experiment whhblank newsprint or absorbentcern­purer paper. In general. alWl)"Jpaint on the smooth side of thepaper,

Pint treeonpaptr

J APANESE INk P AINT ING

Paper or Silk

In the bcglnning. manyInk paint ­Ings""eredone on silk. Silk pre­pared",th a layerof glue Is wellsuited for paindng fine lines anddetails and for Cttl dng gentle tran ­

sitions. For this rt l5On . palntc.rsICl'>'f:to use silkwhen painting ani·mh and birds (espccWlytheir furand leathers) as WtUas landscapesshroudedIn fog.

THE BASte S 15

•

,

16

Hohtn.:ollt't1lCastle(em .iI~)

J APAl'i!ESE ISK P AIN T IN G

Fin t. the whole surface ""&5 mois­tened 'Aim a large brush. Then.whtle the surface WIS still wet. theoutlines were pain ted in ink. blend­mg the cOtlrours immediately wtrh ahard and dry brush. Afterthe silkhad dried. the roughcentours of thecastlewere filled in wtth a fine­tipped brush. For this step. 1used avery Ught shadeof Ink. liUIng Inwith darker shades those pans that

seemed particularly important. Iblended the contours of the m e­tops in order to create rDa\"tment.maldng it seem 15 if th~· wereU)1ng to reach out to the castle.

T HE BA5 1CS 17

P<""y (on Gurn -shl)

Here art:a fewcharming effectsthat can be achievedon Gastn-shl:

I. Dark ink palmed on • "oct, CD1iglutrshade of Ink

2. Ughter shade of Ink on a dark.wet ln1c.

3. Ught shade of Ink added repeat­,clll'

-t. Traces l~ft by • brush where thebristles havebeen spread OUt

The dnt\loing below shews how indi-,'iChWp<ta!Ja.. created by out1ln- (!)ing them in lighter shadesof ink..Thisseparatesthem, creatin&athrte-dimensfanal effect.The edgesare painted b)' O\"t'.rhtpping the Ink. F.fftttJof inltonGasen·shia hnle less whenthe ink is dark.alhde more when the ink is lighter.Thisunusualeffect.bececer , canonly be:achieved on untreatedGastl'l·shf.

How Ink Behaves onUntreated Gasen-shi

18 J APANESE I NK P AINT IN G

Working withInk and Brush

\

Grinding andPreparingInk,-U already discussed. lor best re­sultS. make)'OUt own ink. using anink Stick:and I.nkor grinclin&S{on~.

Put II (t\\ , drops of Wiler on thes~· pan o( an Ink steee. B)' the .wny. the shaU(M' pan is called"Land" and the deep pan is calledthe "ocean,"

Stand the end 01the stick uptightin the water and mao.-e the stick in a"i de. circular marion ""u the stontunril )"OU tm."tan even. smooth Hq­uid. Pushthis Uquid IntO the deeppJ.n of the stone and repeat theprocedure . lidding water to the shal­l"'" end and grinding the Ink stickO\'!:f the surfaceof the stone. In this" 11)', ~'OU prtpart the darkest.blackest ink in highly concentratedform for UK in mixing themanydiI·{trent shades. The success of yourpaintingdepends to 11pa t degreeon~, well you ha\'t ground yourinkl Ink tha t i.stOO past}' will have1051muchof its life.

p, riodlcaIly, replenish the dad<inkin the "ocean.' because. O\-ef time.it "'ill be dilutedbv wet bristlescoo:.swu1r dipped imoh. It DU)'alsc become past)' dueto lowhUmldlry, '

•

Tulips(lnscrucrian on pc.gt'f0)

,

!.,I

' ka,- - +- - - " '4Ur

,J', r--- Llghl ln'

- - - - - Mai'l lolm fnk

- - - - - Llo'*""1M

Filling the Brush

Man)' beginners complain that it ishard to load • brash wtth tak, ThUcomplaint is not warrarned. You arcDOt supposed to N5h. Rather, learnto be gentle when takingup ink. InO<hetwords, if )"O\Ihave • problemIilling)""" brush, )"0\1 simply 1m

not takingenough time.

Try to followthese sups as clcselyas pcsstble:

T il E BASICS

- Fill the whole bl"U5hwi th water;- AdjUSt me al'tXJ\l.D.tb)' wi ping the

brush O\~r a dampccncn rAg..Youneed mere water if the .surface)'00 tntend 10 paint is large; ror amull sur£i e. )"OU need ve ry uute.Alwars~'t the brush ccer the­rag in the dim:tion of the bristles.

- Dip the tip of the brtbh in theshellowportion of the e cee andonly takeenough Ink Cor the fimthird of the bristles to darken onone side.

- Spread the ink to the base of thebrush by d"gging the bristlestightly O\~r the pil le,

- li )"OUnotice that the Ink becomes100 light. repeat the process.

- Dip the up of the brush IntOthedarkest pon ton of the ink onemou rime.

To sumnu.riu the most lmponantpctms:

- The ink on the stone should al­""a)"S ha\y the most intense con­sistcDC)' , Dillgen e during thegrindingprocess 15absoluttlr nrc­essary for success.

-Refill )"O\Ir brush as liule as possi­ble and paint as much15 you canwi th each filling.

- Be patient when tr)1ng to deter­mine the propcr amount of Wet ­

ness. for brusheshon-ea great ca­padty to hold water.

- If you ha\-elost patience, ycu willha\-elost it all.

Brush Control-How toHold the Handle of aBrush

When we talk abou,holding andIlXA1ng a brush. w'e di5ti:ngo.Ji5b

19

among three things: the grip (or~, to hold the handle of thebrusb): rhe direction the brush11'10'.1:5 in relation to tht p;aintingsurbce . :It an angle or verucally;and the \l"J.}' in which the tip of thebristles touches the surface. It iswonh noting that it is It"SSlmpor­tint ho\\' the brush IDO\'n than tuM'the briseles make ContilCt with thepaintingsurface, and this dependshugely on the pressuredu t is ep­plied when p;tinting. Different pres­sure creates different shapes.

Let', start with how to hold thehandle or the brush. In rho begin­ning. holding a brush will fedrather Strange. if you hesitate, rourpainting strokes will leek shaky andunsure. Therefore, hold the handlesecurely \\ith out interfering wtth themobilil) ' Or)""" hand, Don', .urrenup because the bristles of inkbrushes are not as deeply anchoredin the handle as are those on water­color brushes. Ink brushes a~ vt'C)'smooth, panku!a rl)' when rhe)' areheld "poilu. This I)'" of brwh al­lov."S)'0Uf inner emotions to Mtransferreddirectly lO the paper.

Thereare two differencways tohold 'be handle, regardless ofwhether the brush is held verticallyor on an angle. In the beglnnlng. ,recommend that )"OU use the SohouStrle. Later. when you M-e becomemore &miltar with the technique.)'ou can practice rotating the brushbetween your fingers. Thl.sllljcalledthe TanJrou style.

Brush Technique

SWIlI-<brush technique Includes theposi_ of the brw h in your hand

20

, I

SoIo>ogrip

Lt, ,II<...""" oj dothnu!I mI oF""your "ngjingtr , Mldi"g it btCWml d1t"Inda and middlefifI8US. Ktq it inpLIuwith )'Our Mlim". This willan­chor rht &nuh StC\IfT fy '1'1YOIA, MM.

TanJcougrip

Let dK114ndItrnr /JpUrlSt)'Ollr middItfingtr. whllt noldirl&Ie.btrwttrl your In­da ji lfgtr GJId Uuul'lb. n isgives)'"(tll

vtrUmDbfliJ)'. 1M mlddlt jtJ1gcrcarlbtustd tU supporfJnrmbthind.

J A ' AN1!S! I NK PAt NTI N G

and the method of applying ink tothe (lilper. wming '0 lo. d • brushproper!)' and usinggood brushDJO\'ctntnts wt1lenable }'OU to ere­Itc lnk in manydifftrtnt ,hadesand to paint ~l)'thing fromdots totines to spaces.

Holding1MBrusItat an AngleWhen creating. space , the brush isbroughtIn contactwith the-paperand l'DO'~d O\"U it at an angle. Thedp of the brush Is a1W2)'Skept inthe sam. pcstdcn. If the brush hasbeen load~ in threedi!dna con­centrations (liglu. medium.anddark Ink), IS outlined on page 19, •lin. wUllook like (.) on (lilg. 21. If)'OU ja, -edipped the brush into thewater again,after it lw beenload.d. It wUllook like (b). Thewidth of the palmed Un. "il l de­pend on the length of ,he brlsdesthat havebeen in contact vdth thepaper, This can be chang.d by ad­justing the pressure tha t is applltd.to the-brush.

A lin. painted "ith the brushheldat an anglt will \"It) ' more in itswidth, ha\'t a more carted shading .and look smootherand mort ..ert'k).donal" than one rhat is pai nt edwleh the brush held in an uprightposirion .

Holdingr1t~ Handlein r1t~

\b1icall'ositlanIf . brush Is held v'e rtiaJ1}'. the"1dth of • uee can be changed by''af)ing the pressure applied rc thebrush (c). As the brlsdes bend. thetip remainson the center of thtline. Sucha lin. will look posid'.. ,SlIQOg. and p""..n ul. lb. brush isr'QCI'.'edfrom one side to the other.Usethisrechnique when paintingsttms or t\f,igs to cree e • clear,liv..1ylin. (d). while keepinganevenwidth .

If )'OU wan' to chang. from (lilindnga wtder to a nartO\\'cr line, rotatethe brush between )'OUt 6ng...(. round lISown axis). reduce thepressure.and continue(lilintlng"i th the brush sdll in a '-e.ntcaJpo­"don (.) ,

Pllshing 1MBrusItAcrossr1t~PapeT

wbee you push rhe brtsdes of thebrush across the paper and sense acertafn resistance (as the bristlesbegin to bend), the Ilne tha' is ere­. ted wUl. ppear 'mms-p"",.rfuland hea't')'. Very lnterutin g textUrtSwithin a line can be created. ThisJnO\-e.mentis used for pain tingbrm ches and tree mmks.

terssummarizethe most imponantpoints:

-e-Pressure.speed, and the wetnessoCthe brush tnfluence form andappearance. Takenoteof thesetime po ints and practice themuntil )"0\1 arc p1'06dcDLThis rech­roque:b also Vtt)' effecti\'e in cee­110IIing the nowof ink 00 thepaper.

- If a brush Is roo wet, IDO\"t it O't'Crthe paper quicklyand "1m ''eryUght pressure.

- If the brush is nor wet enough.1nO\"t it ccer the paper slowly and. pply morepressure,

- The mc,vemenr of )"OW'brush'um In your heart , goes throughyour ann.through)'our fingers, allthe " '2) ' ' 0 the Up01the brush,Don't rest r our elbow on the tableor the nowof this tnO\'emtm "illbe hindered,

- Try to paint with a "lq breath,"Insteadof llWl) ' ,mall blOk.nlinee. Tryto outline obj<c" Inbroad strokes. changingthe 1DO't"t.

meat of the brush as little as pos­sible. Heslradngand p.intlng instop-and-go strokes disconnects)'OU from the inner depth. inllu-

11

endng tht ene.tg)' and harmonyofthe whole. ~"J}" k.'XWo' what }"O\lwan t to paint before you Start . Assoon as j 'Oll 12k<th< brush Inyour hand. all"'" it to guideyou.let go of "thinking: '

t.t:aming to trUSt the processis dlf·ficult, but it alsobuilds confidence.

-E \"tf)' mcmem existsjust once,Thisis also ece for e\ '!:ry line youpaint. •t\ brush is so scn5ith"t, soagile that ir mirrorsC\~I')' eree­tion . and.therefore. the same sit·uadon can neverbe repeated, Tryto l\'Otd correcting a line. or ID) 'cnhc.rCormfor tlw: reaner. Asoften happt ns in our 0'4 '1\ 1h"tS,we lose if we askfor mort'.

- It is intcmnn g ro note that even}'OUt VCI')' first atte mpt has I cer­taIn ItInd of beauty. ttg;ardk» ofthe tcd mica1shon cominp thouare present. Therefore. if )'OU II) '

to make corrections in the beliefthat this will impl'O'o"tyour tech­nique , }"OUwill neverpaint I

beaurlfulptceure. It is much mort'important to let your vision cometo lifc on the cam'15from a placeof inner peace and trUSt . 1keeptr}ing until 1am sal15fied. And it"ill happen. all of a sudden. usc­all)' when1!un. Itt go of ID}' ob­St.S5ion wah perfectten.

1do not eelteee that this a ceind ·deuce. t alv."I}"Stell my studentS."Each painting has its own beaut}'and each subsequent ptcrurewtll beeven more:beautiful··

PAINTING TECHNIQ UES

u

c)

,. -:;7z =rrxn:: O'"V ' Q

b) _ _ -",=

eJ

fJshdon't bww IInydtilll. ... t <!Itwind blowing.­troewater

and circularUoes. using the tip ofthebrush When pushing a brusbaa05S the paper. U)1ng to createstrOng,rf8ldUnes.speed and pres­sure:are the importan t CactOTS.

Pracdceuntil the:ink creartng thebranchesand ""igs does nor bleedtoO heavil)' lnto the paper.

n. fo urdl ExerclK:Plum-TreeBrAnchHere )'00 wtll practicestrongCUI'''td

Wheo painting nod.... andbranches . practice cfrI\\.ingeesa­pact. suang. "igorouslines v.ith thetip 01the brush

22

PAINTING TECHNIQUESPracticing Lines

11teThird Exercise: B4mbooThis Is an exerctse In holding thehandle 01the brush uprtglu and atan angle'. The goal is to practiced_in g sU2igh, shapes and lines.Om\ ing • bamboo stem lends Itselfwen to painting in different shades.<a\dngup additionalliquid, appl)iJlg\'U)'in& pressure. and choosingtheproper speed.

When~ing leaves, experimentusing different brush pressures.

11teSecondExercise: OrcllfdsThis Is an esectse In ~iJlg a Unewith a certain kind 01rhythm.Whtn palnting the leave s. the goalis to draw a curvedline that looksas if it were brought [0 life by along breath. It is carried OUt in aS\\i h rr:lO'-e. alternating the pressurethat Is applied to the bNSb. Prac­tice lmm Idt to rightand righ' '0k it until )'OU feel that the brusb IsalCIYlng acr055the paper withoutany hesitation. Alsopracticealter­nating the speed with which )'00

""" .. thebrusb.

Th. first Un. Will IltcomtA fWtThis is an exercise In holding abrush vcmeally.The goalis to ex­perience the special feel of workingwith ink brushes, paper, and ink.Bk ndlng water and ink on papercreatCSmanydiffemu shades. Inspite of the fact that ink is black. itis not I sober. cold. inorganic black.15 is the:case with the blacks of wa­tercc lcr and oil paint . Ink has apanicular \dnd 01warmth: itbreathes.

P AINTING TfCHN IQUES

.EyesIUIdMo,w,Con",,1the wetness01 til< bristlesSO that the tip is drier and becomes

BodyFirst. load r oue blUShwith the threedillerem ,hades 01Ink. II youholdthe bnub upright and draw a Une.)"Ou will create a narrow body; Uyou hold the brush at an angle. asomewhat wider bodywith duknedgeswill emerge. Complete thebod}'by drawlng the second ",11fin.Place rhe brush at the but 01thetalland pull the brush swlldyto'l'-a.rds and e cee tht edge of thepaper. 00 the same wtth the sidefins.

The First StrokeBecomesa Fish

Z)

I Vo'U sitting in front of a large pieceof blank paper. My muter reachedlor tIl). hand andguidedthe brush.alread}'filled wlrh lnlc. "You don',ha\-e ro be afraid," he said to me.51",,'1)'. .fits' the rlp and then thebody of the brush made contaCtwiththe ~pcr. ink and water be­gan to flow ont O the paper. and asrhtj' began '0 blend. the head 01the fish appeared. then the body.and finally the tail, aUcreated witha s\\1ft eeeemem of the-brushacl"O$Sthe paper. I had an instantsensation-mr feet, Instead of thefish. hadjust touched the water .After the second fish""&5 drawn onrhe paper. I sensed rhe sparial ex­panse-that rtl) . master had cra ted.This is hov.· I experienced my firstcontact with creadng an inkpainting.

Hold in }"O\D'mind 's eye ,,-hat )'0Ufpalnring Is supposed to be. this winallov.· )'0\1. to experience the pantC\t+Jarrele ma,brush, paper. and lnlcpla). in ink paintings .

PaIn ting IryNtIJIlIlers by~ and Incorporating for­I, Is noreesy '0 uodtnund til< ~'aY ei8"inIIuenccs.Th<"'I'rnsion ofa tDta1Jylorrlp culturevt<wsIts 0f18inallorms or !d<as in til< finean. Even though,In the put. "<st. ~ Is lIO< Taluedas bIghIyIn Japanem an schools taught anisdc tech- as U 15 In scree otht:r coanmes .Dlqu<sby r<qUiringmulents to ~lue:h more unporunt :' the genu·copy old masws expms toda). mcness of what the-mt is ex-hmtate to traeb " by tilt numbers." pressing and 'tltbether or DOt 1MH~'er. this is still tht most dl'ec- artist touehts chc:heart DCthedYe teachingmethod in the Orient. viewer, Of course, artisdc creaD\'irythis Is portic:ularl)' the cue wh<n lllll5t aJsobe presem,unfamiliartechniqutSand ae:sthniC5Your awnemotionalreactionandarc being tauglu and when (01)'• acceptanet of the originalprecedeslimited _ .Is aval1able. Under the act 01copying.and the palnringrhese cond1nons. 1belit'\"t this is }"ourO\\'D. perscnel interpretationmethod Is a 5<IlJIbl<and dlec"th.. 01It. listening '0 the language01one. To, be able to punt cxacu)' as the brush gJ''ts cxprnsion to )"OUJ'shorm In the examples. )"OUmust internal voice.Ihud)' ha\'t mastered tM tech-

1...._ I constantlycome ICr055 eeeelen..,_. r r r r""" are caregorical1)'opposed to

DurIngmy studies. til< mamr thisIcmdof lurning and ttaeb\ngte acber would paint a pIaure in our method . Tbeyu.."Y'say. " I mustpresence.~ tried 10 duplkate bIs paint &.ell'andsimplj' expert-pamdniuntil the mamr !ald. ment," I am ama:edma,people"Good. Now I wiI1paint the next bdle>'e rhe)' a1read)-know ..·bat rhe)'cx:m1plc ." In addition to lum ing must freerhf:mschu fromand~.

Ihrougb this method.reproducing to pracrlc:e.Howerer , It Is nor allaD ink painringor a calligraphyis that long 110 WI I entertained lim ·\i ewed cliffetrntlrin the Orlene In I!arnorions and freed tIl)"S<1Ifromgeneral. Japanese culture Is shaped similarcom..nrlonal rhinIcmg.

51tl"for paindnga)Uk

r

.tlf!tr. Thisassures thar the tip 01the brush widens " ..nly. Drawtheeyesand mouth "ith a suang line.

The Second Experiment:The Orchid

Many 01the old masterpiecesde­pictingorchids were painted b).wo men, Thesegraceful p:ainringsare exprw;tons of their hiddenemotions.Behindthe restrained,gentle forms of the orchid. wemenwere hiding their pride and theirpoassion. tn the old days. people be­lleved that the ink women usedre-

P AINTI NG T EC" NI QUU

leased the fragrance of the orch!and that the-ink Stone Itself Vi

1IU an orchid field.

leavesFill. or load. l"'" brush and boldthe handle upright.Start by apply­ing pressureonlrat the tip of thebristles. so that the-stem of the Jed'looks as if it Wert rooted in theearth. reel the force of a'lQl,~mmt

in the tip of the brush. This repre­sents the eners>' orgrov.'lh. Use it to

create the HnesWt wtll becomethe whole leaf, Continue to pun the

15

brush slov.·ly ever the paper, alter.ruting the pressure. First reduce thepressure. then Increase it. and thenreduce it again. Draw Viith thisrh}'lhm. ron lOO1og "'ith a softCUl'\~ • •~t the'end of the leaf.mebrush is pulled acrossand be)-ondthe-paper as if its tip .....ere reachinggend}' Into the:distance.

The second Une. the K COnd leaf.tosses eve r the first. The third line

cresses O\'er both tilt firstand thesecond. cUliting • counterbalanceto both. Add the fourth line. Cress­Ing the lines creates space.

Sr.qnfor paJlltfrtgGn orrhid

cpeeed their heere , like the 10'0'tmirroredin the eyes of a woman.

EvalWltlon

- Did youremt resting yourelbowon the table and. instead. let yourarm and brush tnO'o"e as one. 50

that roowere able to draw strong.n""ingline.1-\\~re you able to create suflktent

shadings that achieve d the neces­5.1')' three-dimensionaleffecttoallow the Ilcwersto breathe freelyin the white space?

-Does the alternatingpressure )'OUU5<dwhen moving the brushacrossthe paper make it look asif a bird .....ere mcMngits wings?

- Does the stamen. made with ltnled015, appear as if the flowerwereshlMing her heart, as eyes ex­pressing emotions?

After roo have placed lttde. gentledcts inside. the flowers will lookradiant and alive. as if they hln~

" he art, "

flower St....Continue '\1o"Orkingwith the brush inan upright position and paint thestem In a gentle shade. Start at thetip and go down to the base. as ifthe stem were embraced renderlyby nowerpetals.

StamenFill the up of the brush wi th darkink. The stamen is paint ed bytouching the paper with the tip ofthe brush and pullingback again,similar to the Chinesecharacterfor

1n order to pull the base of theleaves together. paint the fifth andsixth leaves on the outside. Paintfrom abcce down 10 the base. Youmay add more leaves. but try tolI\'Oid creating chaos. Althoughtheleavesare different in length, width,dlrection, and shadings, togetherthey should create a harmoniouswhole. Often "less" expresses"more." Expres.sing many emotionswith only a fewstrokes was theteaching of the old masters.

--- •• p

-

FlowenAdd a little more dark ink to thetip of the bristles. Holding the han­dle of the brush upright, paint thepetal! from the outside to the cen­ter. When )'ouaher the pressureyou apply to the brush. lines willchange to a three-dimensional form.

26 JAPANES E I NK PA1NTING

GrassMpptr

\\ 'I

~I• I II

f I

~I ~

j

P AINTI NG T ECHNIQUU

The Third Experiment :Bamboo

• bmlboo sdckis often comparedbfe. Each segmentoCthe:weedy

• ~ has • disdne:tbeginning and- end. a "hello" and • "good­e .' as it were. Growthcontinuesthe matare segment. (orming a

e that is the hue for the nextr segmcn'. In J. panese. the

~ "nodule" ls ",-rtuenb)' using51gn for ·'moderation.·' Modera­l.5 CSKndalif life is to flourish.

k of moderation ant es prob-.. is, tht suoog branch of a baud ­~ bambcc plant could SU\"t as an

pie of pow.rfulbeginnings andoea. tifuIendings.

TIt. BambooDru mIhe brush is loaded ..itb the three~!o.;ldes or tnk and set on the paperwah the brlsdes flauened OUt. The..."ldth of the Stem depends on hO'N~<:h of the brisdu are in CODUIetwnh thepaper. Pushthe brush intile dirtction of the &m.r.'lhof the".rn.finishingthe aegmen' by ap­, l)ing bgh' pressure to thebrush.Continue thistechntque fnr the...-hole Stem. The:brush will lose:mtt:h of ItSmoiswreu it ls pushed:J wards, The bristles becomefrayed," cre.ring It dry, only

~:.ghtly colored segment, as if light'OR" ,hinlng ,hrough. This Image"::10 be eentrelled by Increasing or.mUting the amountof moisture inCt. brushand by changingthe pres­sureand the speed withWhich therushis guided",..r the paper.

Noduleshapea sUgbdymoist bNSh into auaightap on theplait or a rag _

and dip theUpIn,o dark ink. Hold l\li(the handle of thebrush . prtglu and!c:t only the tip come:In CClI1t&ct

27

28

t

with the p3p<r. The tip ,,;11looklike a hook. Pullsideways and en­dude by increul nx the pressure.letting the brush Tna\~ off the paperin an up or dO'llo"swinging motion.a1looo\ing the ink to fade into thewhite space. This wincreate It stemwtth dea rly defined nodules.

Brandt esBranchesgr'O'o\ing OUt from the nod­ules art painted wi m a very drybrash, purringI... pressure on thepaper,

z..avesAdd moistl1R to the bristles of thebrush af" r It Ius hem I""dtd ,,; ththree different shades. 1told thehandle uprightand quickly pull thebrush In one sweepingmotion ecerthe paper. UK pressureonly as thebrush lnidall)' toucbes the paper.

J APAN !.SE I NK P AINT ING

The amount 01pressureyou applydetermines the width of the ltl\"n .

EvallUltimt

- Are Stems, branches. and lCI\"t5sufficientl)· shaded so ther expresslife in its dh'trs lt)'?

- Old )'OU gt\"t each stem a distinctbeginning. expressing its abun­dant strength?

- Did you Ieel rbe Ught. the depth.and the quietness of the whittspace?

- Wert )"ouable to grveeach nodulethe appearance of st3bilif)', anddid } 'OU gi\'( each one clearl)' cit­fined accents?

- Art the branches strongt~ toeatT) ' a hta\·y load of 51\0\\'1

Srrpsfor pof.dng """'boo

n. MoonTo paint bamboo I.., 'es , apply thesame technique youusedin paint­ing the bamboostemsandbranches, a proc<ssthat may be dif­ficultfor >'00. Try to sense themoon in the sk)'. Exprc:sm't'ness"ill no t be di mjn;she d if )'00 hee .in one stroke, palmed a perfect circle.

19

30

The Fourth Experiment :ThePlum-Tree Branch

Plum-tree blossoms. which appearin ~bl'UM)', the ccldese momh inJlI.pan. art. together Withpine andbamboo trees. symbols of sta.bilitylind of goodluck Cor the new )'u r.The new )'Uf is also a ctlC'bratlooof wclcomL'lgspring. Tbe dellcate,Cragrant. plum-tree blossoms. break­ing forth from old. gnarled branchesdespite the cold temperatures, artInr"-Sc:ngers uf spring. hope. and theenergitt of lift.

LargeSTanch..lAullhto: bristles of the brush ....'trhink. Pu.;J}the brush. held at a moreor less steep angle, 5\\ifrl )' as roopaint one segment after the other.erfacing bran hes tha t bend in dif­ferenr dlrecrtons. Jeel the:tmsion inthe:bristles uf )'OW' brush 1U )' OU

tr'lO'o"COlo"t t the:~ptr. This tension to;tn..nsferred. milking the branchesmang and alive. It is helpful if thenp of the brush is bent at an t.ngkas the brtstl arc pushed forwardor sidew:l)'5. You C"oln also rotate thehandle:between rour fingers as thetip IDO\~ along the edge:cr ebrunch. lill~ing the branch lO be­come 1\;ltTO\\'cr ss It "grows ."

TwigsTherip of rbe bl\lSh.comalning 1<55liquid and held uprigh, ts post­rloned ill the branch and pulledswiftl)· and " i th evenpressure1I"1l)'Ircm It. Do not let the l'nd of a [\ligblend into the paper, U lI\"esomespace fur blossoms you mighr waneto paint later,

Wlutt ph,m·rrtt blossomJ

JA PANESE I NK P AINTI NG

P AINTI NG TECUN1Q UF.S 31

•

Supsfor pclinring plwm-rr« bra-"' JwGndblcu<mu

,

BIossonuWhen painting white buds IU1d pet·als. load the bristles with the threedifferent shades of Ink and hold thebrushhandle uprighc The diflerenrshlding wit hin a blossom is createdb)' increasing or lcSRning the pru.$UTe on the brush as )"OUpaint th<indh"1cluallintS. The shape of indi­'i dual petals should nur be empha­bel lOOStrong!)-.

When painting pink-cclcred bios.5OtnS . the brush is filled \\1m threeshades of \"t ry light lnk. Paint themdMdual pt tll lJ wi th one:"dab ofthe brush for each one. This createsdiffell'nd)' shaped blossoms.allpointing in difi'trent directions.

Redplum'l rtt blOSSDmJ

)2

\\~llIow willi ,,,r;un

J APAN !!loE I NK PA INT ING

S<pGIsSepm art the eeeeeedees bctwunbl05somsand "'''8' . Load rll<brashwith the darkest ink. The bristlesshouldbe almosr dry. As soon aslit. tip bastceched tho paper, pullthe brush awllYwith a swift motion.the same "''I) ' ) 'OU did when palnt­ing the stamen of an orchid.

StammGh"t the tip of the brush IS 6ne apoin t as roo can, and load thebris­tles with 1.$ little moi5tureas pesst­ble. Although lht tip is fine. eachline must be palnted with II ruol Ult'stroke. U,lng darkink. add ltnledots aba.-e or below meline.

EvAluation- Did the energyof liCe 00\\' into

the t\\1gsand branches. so the')'radiate strength lind \1tality?Plinting (JI.~r a pl'e\wusly patnredsurface robs lr of this flow.

-Estab lishina cea rrast between •gentle tlo"..cr petal and a roughbranch or N ig createsa beautifulblO55Om.CJ.n)'0\1 detect in thebranch the man)' years of usgrowth.a sign of lISIif<?

-Did the white 5p;lC~ gain in depthbecauseof the li\'tl)' crisscrossingof twigs lind branches?

Additional Practice

W'tlIowAt first sight ... 'hat seems to be :arather diffil"'Ulr task-painting. theo tkins-hu been done successfullyeeen b)' beginners. With. brushthat is loadtd with somewhat ecrewaterand \\ith lin ink that is nottoo dark.painr lit. catkinsby lhb­bing lit. brush on rho pap<r. Us<•drierbrush and darker ink for thesepal and paint the twi gs as wedis­CUSKdbefore.

PirteTruBranches of ptne U'«S bevea cern ­plerely di£f'~rcnt cb:anc(tr duntheseof plum Itt es. !hq ' p"" 1d<goodpractice Cor paintingbranches.These:branches art painted \liththe bru5hhdd at In Ingle, Twigsarc painted tht same:\l"a}' as plusn­eee t....igs . fromthe:largu. recgherbranches (0 the smaller eaes. Pine:needles ere painted w1th II brush''''''Isalmost dry, held l imos, up'righ'. Conclude by painting 'hebark "1th an l imos' dry brush Inddarklnk. To create 11.solidItne,pushthe brush forward,

SllPSfor pain ling II phlNr« bnmch

PAI NTIN G T eC lINIQ Ur:s 33

-

J A PAN ESE IN K P AINTING

..

dry. Conclude by painting the feet Stepsfo ' pai'U'l'l • bin!and clews, using a dry brush filledwith dati<Ink.

1, is helpful to paint thewholebodyoCthebird In a lightershade andthen ",..rIaythe"ing> and thetanwi th darkerink.Thisprevemsun­evennessthatcan etherwisedisturbthe finishedpainting. Onlyafter thewhole birdis~d do )'oupaintthebranchon which II I.ssitting.

Bird on a BranchWhen paintinga bird. we usuallyStart with thebeak. first with theupper half and then the lower. Theposition of thebeakdeterminesthepositionof thebtrd'shel d andbody. Paint the btak and the 'l '"with a still, dr)' bNShcontainingdark Ink. Thewaythe 'l'<S anpain ted determines the expression.Use thedarkesr shade Cor the pup­ils. Continueby painting theheed,then thebody, Collow«! by the tailCeathm . For the <bestand belly,UK a lighcershade. l1Ra darkershade for ,he " ings and the tail.Pain, these bereee the pm i"",l)'painted. lighterpans ha-.. btgun to

PAINTING TECJ1NIQUU

Btrdon cl brandtBIni and flown Palnlln,There an: ,....0 typ<S of ink paint ­Ings. The lint Is landscape palndng.In Japan. this Is knownas moun­tain and water painting. Theotheris referred to as birdand flowerpainting.

Th<latt<rconslsu of paindn&>ofno...rs, trees, and an1ataIs. ThIstype of painting .mplwlus eee­tras«s betweenstillnessandmotionand betw-een 5Oftt1C$$and 5lm>gth.S<iIIncss.. represented by ..... andflowers: motion. by , nimals. suthasbirds. Colunse make a pic"""come alive. Painters, in admiration

and10''tof nature.reech for dKirbNShcs.go outSide. and use thesemotifsin their painting.sto capturetheir emotions.Apainting of a bird docs no< ahnysn:vulwhetherthepainter is se­cretly longing for freedom.or If he....nts to remainin a warmnest.Howt\"tr. sometimes OM ormystu·dents maysubconsciouslygIYCapress ion to a lonwngby the ex­prcsm.. ""l' he paints • bird. Ibm1ha\.. to smile. In general, humanbeings KC111 IlI.IChbappi<rwile..theyare than they think they are.Most rcallydOll', wan,to le... theirnests.

'"

36

•

.Exercises forCreating Space

With the Brush Held atan Angle, A lmost Flaton the Paper

P AINTI NG T r:CK NIQ UES

Poppy1, -as CascinattdIS the delicate pet ­als of the poppycame a1h" throughd't brillwu color of metnk. itseemedas if butterllic:swert rum­bling about. At the same lim<. Ithoughtof the Acropolis. an Infi­nitelydeep. uure blue .k)'. and theimet15t.lybrilUant colon of pcppjesin bloom!

FIowrrPmlsloa d }'OUt brush wtth the three dif­ferent shades of ink. pushing il O"U

t:ht paper in the order givenin medrawings below.

ne Centn of rltc FIowrrWith the dp of the brush, make lit­tle dots In the shape of a triangle.For the poUen. usc the da:.rkestinkpossible.

SuzmmThe .wn<nis palnled by dabbln&the tip of the brush \\,th .light

37

pressureon the pape.r. decrt"ui ngthe pr<S51U<as the brush is pulleddO'\ll andoffthe paper. The "" ­men is pafnted with \y ry dark ink..

StmtFinc eslAblish the wldth of theStem by using1Mappropriate pres­sure. When the right width isachieved. pull the brush oo..·nwanh .

HairWe use a special technique forpainting hair. Begin by pushlng J""lthe tip of the upright brush 011 theink plate, then rDO\oingit l».ck lindfonh In the Ink. The bristles \\, 11become Craytd and take up \'ft:ry lir­de Ink. Hold the Craj'ed bristles be­twe en )"OUf thumband index lingerso as to Corm a rin)' "brush" withshen "bristles." Use these bristlesto add hair to the Stem. pu11ingthebristles Po"l}' from the stem to theoutSide.

(j) (!),. .+

(j)~. ~

t i/ @-"

e 4,j @

+ ~_lI

SlqI f or pabta.s• poppy

38 J APA NESE I SK PAINTI NG

P AINTI NG T~C"NtQU I!5 39

Rotating the Handleof the Brush

CrocusA silht to behold! Ayellow crocuson a green mcadow. a magnificenthlac-cclcredcrocusstill surroundedby 5DOW. PaInting smalldabsof lrlkon the " SDO'I\'" aIlov.'Sus to seasethe warnuh of the earth and the vl ­taIity of the crocus.

In practlc.a1terms, painting a cnx:usIs eae _ of practlcing rota ting abtwh llO\lIld its own axis. ThIsmeans -mg the brush lts<1fas itis JnOlo'tC!acrossthe paper. In oneswift motion. )"OU &R' able to createthe shape).... "''lnL E'= thou&hthis is SODW1>1lat cumbe.rsome inthebeginnln& )'OU can immediatdysee the <!feetof the .hape).... ha\..ereeed.

outer leaves , proceedingas )"0\1 did....ith the pctal ln the center.

SI....Set the dp of w brush underneaththe nOYo'er and pull do.....nward! .

!LavaStart at the tip of the leaves, usingthe tip of the brush. Pull the brushdown as )'OU Increase the pressure,..id entng the 1t:a\ 't:5 .

~H~ In 11KSnowAdd \'tl) ' atered-dcwn ink aroundthe place here th.t1t:a\'t:5 "grow"out of the ground.

.,

r f'1lr«r BudStan ....ith the petal in the center.Guide the brush on In Ingle ....aththe tip in an upv.-..rdmotion, Rotatethe brush to the left md outSlde.Pull the brush downwards as )....decrease the pressure. Youjus tpainted the left halfof • pelll1!Con­timlt with the right hill in the samefashion. The handle of the brushD'lO\"t5 to the right. Add both the Supsf orpail'ltiPlgQ. CJ'OCIU

® C!J•

CD•

@) I!J~

C!JCroau in tM Snow SUM Leavts

•

Sr'l'Sfer ".. . dng. "'lip

(.1.

posite direction. Pain, the thlrd Ital.in ali&hter shade. behind aod be­tween the6m t'A'O.

SteIIIWirh the handit held upright,pull the bMh hom rhe base of theflower dOlAnto theedgeorthepaper.

UCIV<SPaint the lU\'U in one:5U'Okefromthe tOpd""", . usiog6m the rip ofthebrush. Attheplacewheretheleeeesincrease in wtdth, rotatethebrushsidev.-->'Suntil j[ rem flat onthe papet. Use rht ...hole length ofthe bristles.

40

Tulip

E,..'Y rimespring rollsaround. I aminspired to paint rulips.The lushgreen I""... an Ut<nJIybursrlngwirhmergy. Myobsts51onwtrhcre­atingdyna.m1cDlO\"erDrnt In ODeStrokeoftenmeansthe lcavesIpain, appear to beRill and r!&ld.Andone v."OU1dthink thattulipsareDowersof such simplicity aod In..•liness!

TheFIDwerHold rht brush, loaded wtth thethreeshadesof ink, on thepaperatan angle:and rotate thehandletowards the outside. lkgin thesec­end strokeat the:tip. somev.'hat off­set, and rotatethebrushin the'cp-

tl

Amagnoliatree, with blO55Olll!thatlook 1ik<candles. Is simply oee ofw most b<audful sWusin aIlofnature. Lookingat this tree ~bloom aIv.'a)'S "' minds ""t of wexpruslon on ",!"bl w r', Iacew'hen she talktdto us aboutthemoment whtn our magnoliatreebegan to burstinrobloom.

Magnolia

11KFIawaIl<gtnwith w outormoso.ldt petal.Pullw brush from the oIIlick- .w inside while rowin g in oleft.Thepetalin the center ispainled in 0\'0 stages. The brushrc­talt5 and Is pulled from the ou_to W inside . Add the right petal.FollO\lingthe samesequence. add

-:

--

r

PAINTIN G T EC"NI QUU

wJ

,

-,

__ 0. .. ' #

the petabin ,he back. b<hind theother two. Conclude by dabbing in(hr. stamen 'With dark ink.

BudsPolint the buds the same " "lilYas v..ehave discussedfor the b rg<nowers.using two or dun strokes.

SqcIlsAdd sepals at tht base of the floweror llt the bud. Makesure thllr theslw:leof the .RpW stands in con­trast to that of the petals of theO~~r.

TwiSSIn order to give ure to the StCITt5and twigs. take the moisture out ofthe brush and fill the tip of thebrush with darlcink cnly. Draw thest em fromthe baseof the Ilowerr",,'IUdsthe n\;g .

LeavesWhen pain ting the large tec es.stan at the point where thc')'emerge from the twigs and tDO''t upto'o\'1rds the tips of the ICl \'tS . Paintthe sman leaves wit h the tip of theb~h.

J APAN£S E I N': P AI NT I NG

P AI NTI NG TECIiNIQ Ul5

reload the brush wilh a lltrle bit ofdark ink and. as you hold yourbreath. pull down rewards yuu. Yourbreath should stay in your belly,

When painted in this way. the ripsof the leaves become dark. givingthe Impl"t5ston that the leavesarereaching. growing. towards the sky.The proc~ss began in sullness, butthe .Ughdy curv..d ups speak ofbursting encrg)·.

LeavesHoldlng the b"" h uprlght and. withccndmscusly increasingpressure•Stan at the dp of the leavcs andtnO\ "t the brush dO\\'fl\\"Ird.s. BefOrtpainting the le~"t:S that nand erect,

SepalsSepals.too, are painted In tWO

mge •. Each time, pull the b"" hnd",'1)~ while rcuung th' handle.1£you hav.. used light Ink. the lin.between the 1\\'0 sepal! will be'visl­ble. In this case. that is the effectyou warn to achieve because it.h",,~ the proper. curlingshape ofthe sepals.

SumHold 'he brush uprigh' and. begin.ning It the base of the Dower, pulldown to the edge of the paper.

Supsfor pcrhrrhtg an Iris

.Y< e~

I@)

@ @)t ~

@ 'f•

FlawuStan . i th the pee l Wt extendsdown from thecenter. In order tomake the seam, created by~"O

tJ\"trlappingUnt5. les, obvious, loadthe brush with the three differentshades of the ink and follow thisseam. UK the tip of the brush. al­lowingthe darkerinlt to ron to theinside. If a dtrlcarea O't'!:rlapsan­other dark are•. the seam willhardly be nodteable. This is themethod to USC'when cO\"ering •large. uniform area. The petals ex­tending to the ! idu art painted b)'alt.ring the prmure and by tot2 dogthe handle of the brush, The three•mallpew.and thosethat growbe­n de each of the lat<rol pew.areabo painted by tolldog the handleof the b""h.

Iris

We dminguish between iTiKs Wtare shan uved, which have dis­tinctly shaped lelnu . and the otheririses. with thdr mort gentlyshaptd leaves. £\ 'U )' rear on thefifthof May. the !'<as, of ,h.Bo)'.the:latter t)-pcof iris. together witha picture:of the armor of a samurai,is U5tdfor decorating. Its uprightshape and slrong gf'O\\'th best s}'m­bolue the Ideal of the samuraI.

Large Areas Paintedin Two Strokes

P AINTING T ECHN IQUES .,Anthurium

wheneeer 1look at an anthutium.Ithink of a kit<soaringgracefullyInth<sky. and L too . want 10 ny.!'IDw<rTopaint th< llov.-er, load }'OW' brashonlyJ1lghtly"'th Ink (In threeshad<>. of course). Hold yourbNShal an angleand push the brlstksdownund! one-third of th< Itngthof the brlsdesis in contactwiththepapar. W1thoul h. sitadon. pull thebrush. whlleroladng the !landle,, ,,,fdy upwardsto the Ji8ht.With asecondstroke.and In iI lightershade. paint the underside.

LtavaLoad)-our brush\lith ink that is",latn~ly datk.but maintain thn:.shadts. Paint each leafin twORagU. With each SU'Oke. the dp ofthebnah rDO\'eS alongthe centeratan angle from thetop [0 thebase.Wlltn the Ink is a1mo>l dry. pain tIn th<,'tins with clark Ink.

S_Patnt the SIemsin a lighter shadeand 1'nO'o'C}"OUrbrushfromthe baseof the nowerdownto theedge ofth<papar.

Srqsfor pcUntin8GnGnthurium

lmtForeYrrTime and againtbe:question arises."Is it possible 10 com et a shapethat has alrudy been paln lt d onpapar?" My answ< r. " No low 51}"thatyou are not allowtdto dou,'H"" .... r, }'OUwill qulcldykam thatwhtn }'OU. fur InsWlCt. add anothtrlint to COITttt theonealreadyonth<papar. som<tldngirTetM'lhkhas been Iosr,",~n if }'OUIta-. Im­p",,~ on th< orIgIna1form andmadt ir:mort bnudfu1or mortrulistic .Thiseeecepealso applies 10 Japa-

nest tea ceremonies. wherethecentralmeaning lies in the umque­ness of the moment. In order forthisuniqueencounterto be fullyexperienced, the shapeand courseof each individual modonor JDO'L'e­

mcnt is determinedbeforehand. Insimilarfashion. th< process ofpaintingis reducedto its essentialminiDJJ.m. anda painterpracticesth<"""= of the brush on pa­per until theformcrtattdis IS nat­ural as possible. In contrast to theconcept as practicedin Western an."u'" the end productis mo", 1m-

portant thaneach indMduaJline. inskmi-t t\"tt')" brushstroketDU5t berightbecause correcncn is not pas.sible. Each lnclividualline t<llsliltstoryorthe Pl'OCtss. Eachline iseeeeeeed to themxt and to thewhol~; eachline is important as ItappaarsOIl the l'"ptr. nc h lint is amJrrorof theIttrndm. energy.andthe soul of th<paln lt r. What Is lOStin tr)inBto make • tiDemorebeau­tlfu1is the " Imslon of the siItnct:·a place of puri !)', wiltre th<eeelIYorsilence:is prae nt. Thatis whatWdnattSandDICJtotime.

Rough Outline withOne Stroke

J APAN !S £ INK P AINTING

Promontory

A student of mine.returning fromI

"Icationon the MediterraneanCOUtin southernFrance~ told me that hebroughtback with him the Imagefor thepainting he wes doing In trl)'class, He literallyexperiencedtheMediterraneancoast15 l'taUty 'Iaoi1ilehe 'Iao"Upaintins. 1...as O''t'rjO}-ed.!

I am sun:thatat some time. some­where. youha\"~ seen a pmIOontol)'similar to the one on thispage.Tryto makea roughoutline of It wtrhonestroke. E\'t'rythingthatisn't es­Hntialls left OUt. The 6SCnrialsaregivenform and shape. Addonlythese detailsthatere important toyou,

Load thebnah sparinglj' ..1rh therhreeshades of ink. D<r.rmlnetheline at the hort:on.ThebrushliesOat and is pulledhorizonllllly omthe paper. The dp of shebnah be,comesthetipof the promontory.

1£the promonwI)' features some­thinglike I mountain range. pull

thebrushsomt\\-N.tmore to theright. "'la dng i' 50 tha' <hedp ofthebI'U5h creates theedge of themountain. U )"oo \\'II1tto ··plant'·trees, hold <hehandle of <hebrushIt an upward ansle. pulling I, hod­zon<ally with a '1bnd ng morlon . 1l}"OU"';tnt to crute a greaterspaceor produce tDCIl~nt in an ether­w15e'la de painting. add a bird andmakeit seem u i£it is Dyingto a_ ..,. place.

P AINTI NG TE CHNIQ UES

5"", Jor""huh,S . P""""' lDry

47

•

PAINTINGOBJECTS

Still Life in InkPaintings

As an In form. still life expressesthe essence of ink painting partlcu­Iarlywell. Wblle in Japanese thephrase "sdll life" is writteD in theChin<se.for "qW lI1tSS" and"object," it is understood that thisan form doesn'f represent an ar­nng ement of "dead" objcctS. 15 inWestern an ; rather. a still life is anarrangement that ui.esto cOQ\q the:

deeper nature that ai5rs within. Asdll life ink paintin&has tbree-dl­mensional qualities, but it doesn'tmakeUS< of light and shadow. be­cause these are changeable:andtemporary. it also does not U5C her­i:ontal imagesor objectSsuch as atabletop for placement. and. mostof all. it does not US< a bacltp>untl.

in a sdl1life. the space is the ..-hoI.cosmos. Youarc DOt trying (0 con­quer it; rather, )'00 create it by lcs­ing )'~U in that space. It Is •space where everydaylifebecomesone with eternity. The cosmos is

is

PAINTING O aJ£CTS i9

a!l·lnclusM:but nol limited; h Isnature.

AfterI saw the !till Ufe palnl1DgJ01theh. 1ian palntu ." d gnaphlc ._Motllndi (1890- 1964). and after IImtnersedtll)-.df In Ink p>indng. itbc:cm clear 10 me "'bat1badnotnodced before: hisIs the\\W<m.artificially enclosed space.createdby using Ji&ht.,W ow. ." d beck­ground.In s~ml-(, a still life is not an I t·tempt to describe an object';rather.it gives reality to an object. repre­sentingyoursubjecuve. emotionalperception. in contraSt to Westernpaintings. wherea painter triestocapture reallt)' by Iddlng deWis. InInk paintins only presents thees­sentials, withas fewbrush strOkesIS possible. bringingthepalntins toUfe by findingIts energy.

Widrt TlIrnip

JAPANUI INIt P AIN TIN G

p..,,.Sran wirh ,he pcar in <hemiddle.Load}"Our brush with threeshadesof ink. Hold the handleat an angle,paintingthe left hall 01<hepearfuse Male<surethat the dp 01<hebrush g\\-es shapeto theower con­toUr of the lrule RDtating<hehandIc01<hebNSh..111gtve<heIov...r halflIs width. The wldrh 01<hepear isderemdned b}' <heIensth01thebtistles . Coadnue by painring <heright half01the fruit.again. ,tartingat the top and tl>JV!llgthe bNShdov.'m\'lMs. Thesecondpear. whichis p1a}ingthe suppcmng role, islighter. bu, the ink abo containsallthree ,hades, I, is okaylor <heI,chside 10 O'o'trlapthe firstbecausethe

Those pansthat are dense, hu\ -y.dark.large. and close representthefullness; thosethataresparse,bright. light. small.and far awayrepresentemptiness. Whileempti.ness and £ullnwcreate COfttl'U t.thc}.ltIIl5t complement each 000and exist in hannony.

YoultIIl5t makeclear wldch object15prlmary and ..illch 15seccedary,Paintthepnmaryobject firstand<hen,he s<coadary . If . composi·tion consisu 01rht<eobjects . pUntthemin tht order of "guest. host.and servant," Therelationshipbe­tween ob].... gi\-.s • paintingliIeand balance.

Abovl CoIIIposltlons:HGnnDfty ad Coll_In ink pUndnp . composition de", r·minestheharmoniousrtladonshipand dlsdncdm that exists betweenemptinessand fullnessand be­tween a sur andtbt support:iD&ICtOr.The area in which}'OU work is di·\idtd into theemptiness. ..rbeeethe'" is nothing.and the spoce thatis filled, ,,'he'~ }'OU paint. In orderto create C0mra.5ts . the-painttdSJ>I"CIIlll5t be spmc and dense,hnvy and lish~ dark and briah'.and ccetaln big and small thingsanddistant anddose objectS.

darker ink is domlnant, maldng thelighter arta appear to be behind It .

P AI NTI N G a _JEe rs

'2 J APANESE INK PAINTING

SltpJ Jorprinling • chrysGn"""."in 4 VlUt

PAINTING OIJEe TS

a."..... tlIcm.....A1on&w1th the bamboo.orcbld. andplum tree. the cluysan the= Isone orthe "rouraristocrats." de­scribed In the MllS14rd·Stc4GGrdtn,• Chinesetextbook from theseven­ttendt century.Chrysanthemumsere symbolsorautumn.TheyareelseS)'Inbols of lo)"ahy and dese­tion.

Beginbrpainting the central petalslim, worlcing)'OUCwayfromthereto the outSide. Loadthe brush ..,ththree. hades of IIgbtInk. Dnw theowline in rA'O separate brush.-.. . holding the hand1<upriabtand pullingthe brush from the OUt ­

side to the Inside. HOO',",u, male<sure that the petals are not anthesamewidth.As )"'" did whenpaint­Ing the bamboo nodu!es, set the tipon the paperwith a lInle bit of

53

pressureand pull the brushto thecemer oftheOCft'~r, In this way.each petal tip Is somewhatpmml­nent and thru-dimlnslonal. ForthelU\u. usedarkerink.Pulleach tn­dividualbrush stroke fromthe OUt·side to thecenter, creating eachwhole leaf In one Stroke. Wockfromthe tip to the base.

The,.... Is painted In swiftbrushStrokes",mthe handle held up­tigbt,using three IIgbt sIwI... TheCODO'Ut betweenthe white sun.ceand the Ink makesthe ,.... appearto be made of gJus.

Finalir. with datk Ink.add ,'tins tothe1eI\ U and to theeemer of theblDasom.

TeapolThe knob OIl the tid is drawnwnhtheorof thebrush.Rotaterhe han­dle 0 the brush.staningat the top.Ma."eto theleft and downand Im­mediately go back again to thestartingpoint. mcMng the brush tothe right and downwards. To paintme lid. hold the brushhorizontally.pu!llog !l to the right while rotatingthe handle of thebrushto the OUt­

side. The base of the lid is paintedwith the brush In an upright pest­tion. Do likewisewhen painting theItandle. Hold the handle of thebrush uprighL For the belly of thepet. hold the brush ot on angle. Forthe bottom. hold the brush uprightagain.Topaint the mouth of thepot, Stan at the bellyand tnIJ'"t thebrushto theleft and OUt. for thebowl, load the brush wim threeshades of inkand hold it at an an­gle. Start with the rip of the brushat the left side and, witha rotatingmotion, swildy paint. broadarea,endingwith the brush In an uprightposition. drawingthebottom of thebowl.

Sttpsfor paintinga CtGpot anda bowl

J "''' NlU INK P " INT1NG

•

PAnni NG O I JECTS "M...hl'OOlllTo paint (he underside o( (he mush­room. ha\'crourbrush loaded v.'i(hthree shadu o( ink. Ikgin by~uin&

the rtp of your brush on lhe paper.Pull the brush sloIoiyto the rightwohile applyingpressureand rotatinglile handle. Conclude this strokewi th the lip of the brush. The upperpordono( (he mushroom is paintedin the sameway,The l.amtllae onme undersideo( the mushroomarepainted by loading the brush ..1lilv.. ry light Ink and . starrtng at thebase of the Stem, pu11iIlgthe rip ofthe blUSh qulcldyto the outSide.

SrqsJorpaintinga mwhroom

LandscapesinInk Paintings

JAP ANESE INK P AINTI NG

Landscapeswe'" painted in nonh­ern ChJnain Sl)'Uud form as earlyIS thettnth and.tlt\"tnthcenturies.Distinct linesdominate these paint­iJl&s.Clas5icallancbcapepalnllnp havea1waysoccupied a '''rrspecWplaceamonginlc palnllnp . in Japan. theya", called SoJuuI.,: (mountain andwaterplctu.rt.s). However. Sansvipaintings Itt distinctly dlff,""'tfrom today's landscape palntings. Inandent rimes. it wu thou.ghtthatmountainsand riverswere theplac.. where the gnds resided. Onebelleee d in the greatpower of na­ture . Sa""'! paintingsare foundontht wallsof temples sideby side:

",1th Buddhistpaintings.TheywertS)-mbols of Ideasand a means tohonornaNn. Forthatruson.it,,-as impo tun t to create tnOUnuins.md<s. and ee.. as Iifdik< as possi­ble. Tbls"'ISICCOmplisbedwith'''rrsuongbrush strokesand, incontrastto Western paintings. bya\'Oldingt specificpoint of focus.V1sualformsseemed to gJ'O'A' &omwithin the Un.. ..... ting a palndngof the unl\..". .

A Sansulpainting did not attemptto beI representation of the mani­fold objects present in nature or toCOI1\'t)' a personalimpressionof aparticularpartof nature froma par.ticular\'aJttage:point: insttad.thtpainterUStdmountainsand".. terin an attempt to reconsuua theuM-etK . As thistype:of an deeel­oped we e time, it became moreandmoreStyllzed.

You Itt not ",qulred to adoptthistype:of styliz.cd."hae" p.inting if)"0\1prtCtr a morespatialrepresen­udee . By this1man. inkpainrlngsin which lessdefinedoutIin.. ofobjectSart used. Painringsthatuse:more dlfIusecontoUrSdeseleped inthe milderand morthumidclimatein the southernpans of China. (Anexampleof thl>sryle I> the paintingon page 6'1.) Neve nhel.. s, by ger­ting to knowthis st)'ilzed l)'pe ofpainting. you will learn how to ere­atespatialeffectSwithout the use oflight and shadow.

oo14UMcnmtai" Top. Not Mmn!10 8<C1lm!>t4"

PAI NT ING C IJECTS

A Study of Trees

~~

Tntnll1f)"OUwant to eruct I mmk'Aith aOallook. sun where the thlcUs'branch beginsaml pull the brushd""", to tit<base. wbe e outUn1ngaDUnk.youmaymcJ\"f:yourbrushInany dlr<ctlonyou Iik<. Try to draw 1ft<lmi •• •_ .rlines without hesitation. in one C - -t- oJ D"ttS

brushstroke. Do notuse smansuokes.u youwould in a pcn·llnd-ink drawing.Try lO g;.. tit<aunkan Irregularwidth as the brushtnO'o"CSCI\"Crthe paper.

Twlp and BnIlIChtsPain, the branches 6m, then tit<lW1&S. Genually speaking.lW1&Sandbrancheson the left side of. tree... painted Ircm the top to the bee­tom and bom left to rtgIu.The...;gsandbrancll<son tit<rf8Iuside of the tree arepainted from thebottom up andfromri&ht to 1.&.

Ulnala\"CScan be paintedrIo'O dift'uent"'.ys. Theonhodox methodin\'Oh-espain ting only tit<cutlln e. In thecdier way. whiclldeveloped later.th. Ink is dabbedon the paperwhhthe tip of thebrushwithoutclearoutline. l.e.a\-eswith serrated edgesaredabbed on the paperwtth anold brush tha, has shon brtsdes,

CI'OWIlBeforeyoupaim the CI'09o'n of theeee, paint the trunk.tit<lW1&S. andthebranches. In order to createanap ansn.. view, sun dabbin&!romtheOUtSide to thecenter of thecrown. 50 thatthelea\ti m moredeese en to p and the outside thanthosethatarccloserto tht trUnkand theinside. Darkness'-ersusIi&h' and "... surfaces \"eJSUS dryspaces,when propertydistributed,will gl\.. dynamicen<TBYto tit<tree , When painting a &JllUPof(fCU. alWl)'S 5Wt withtheoneWt is closestto )'0\1.

JAPA~ESE INK P AINTl NG

Trus In du<I'lddThisis an exercisein paintingtrees.If)'0\1 wantto painta groupoftrees. make.surethat)"OU\'11)' theUnes of tho blUlI:OOand twIp .There art: thostthal arcdr). andold; ethers art 11m and )'OU!li­Some art thick and dark; othm artthIoand Ughte r, Mak<sur. that theskeletonsof the trees. the trunk,twtgs.andbranches. ha\'t an ex­pansh-echaracter. Three-dimea­siorWeffectSart achievedandapaintingCOme:5 ali\-ew.flenstronglines andbroaderbrush strokes arealternated.

f it'" '" Winttr

f ideiin Sumrr..tr

Rulity GIld"""&I"'""'"It ...... magical."""lIenee. Sud­denly, 1_ sum>UIld.dby du: softUgh,of spring, 5<1UInBrho cool alton mycheeks. II WU IS if I wertwalldngalong• m..r, Mcmowfromtheput seemedto comealive.rwas addinglinle dabsof ink IO abranch, indicating the sproudng ofn.... leafbuds 011 the barebtaOcb<s.1 feltSWltIUtIcI<dby bunri&!! Ugh,.1.....wa1l<iIlialongtha' m.r I3'inIInk on whitepaper,in a Wet or drysrat<. can ... ke imagesof UgIuand01dlflum, shadesof cclee, auting• W<>nd<rfuJmnospb<tt. Til<ex·ptasicns creasedill ink paintingsareb:nmediateand true . B1ack·ed·whitephotoscan never hopeto«!lin< du: ..... cl£<ets.

Riverhi Summer

PAINTING O . Jl CT5 '9

60 JAPANESE IS K PAINT ING

II

A taUend ttsshort.Ululqll iI andtnWpmnt,_srt}I<clioftof fall.(B1lSOlI)

the tnillng branch<sIt the trunk.where1h<yate thid<er. and end ItdleIr tip. where 1h<ybecome in­<rU!ingIy chinnu,

looks IS if h might""do;but IS youcontinue to JJ:¥:7-'e upwards. rotatingthe han dle and pushing die brush,die bristles begin '0spread apart.makingit difficultto decreasethe,,'ddl or the trunk.IS It does natu­rally ",hen It in hcighc Stan

, • I

l II

1 •• • jI,

!If

/ f\•- \

I

~ngWiDow

Whenpaintingtheuunkof a weep­Ing willow. pull yourblUShltom 1h<tcp down to 1h<baseor the trunk.Ido not recommend5tartlngat thebaseor die trunkand painting up­wards . initially. by holding the han­dle of thebrushI t an angle. it'.

PAI NTING O BJECTS 61

Mount Pujl-1lIe HolyMountain (witlI pl~ IT_>This'''''Ypopularmoll!has beenpaIn,ed by anI$U we r and "'''''again. I, Is almost the symbol ofJa­pan_Singularly bu urlfu\, Moont fuj iIs the hl8b<st mountainIn jepen,risIn&eeee-sbaped froma widebaJewith ekpn , proporrlons-Thismountainreachesa bcI&hrof _12,500 feet (3800 m), and k con­suntly chanacsIts appconnce, de­pendilli on the wu ther, the \ight ata si''<ntim< of day, and the seasonof the yur . Today. MDUnrFujlls a5)'lllboIof buuty and of Japaneseaesthetics.

Togetherwith the pine tree . the5)'tllbol of long ille. Mount FUJI IsWo the symbol for luck. During themonth of January, a pictureof thismount21n, lncludilli the pine tree ,decorates theTlMon0?n4alca.oein""''YJapanese becse. lDoking atbuu tlful Mount FUJI mal<csmyhean skipa buc

1lIe Stages of PaintingMount PujlSet ,he rip of the brmh on the pa­per and beginby push!lli k at anang1cfromrigluto left In an up­ward morton. W1thDU' Slopping.continuein anup-and-downmove­ment to the t od of the left tdgt ofthe summi, . From,hat poin' OIl,

pull the tip of the bNShdov.'DandOIlt e cer the left edgt of the paper.The painted line dlsappcm s1DwIyInto the white spact .

Till """&<oj SlI:"U''IU gnwis 011that is Iefloj tkt warrfDr'sdream.(Basho)

moo.-ementmustha\-ecertainty.be­cause'Aim t\'U}' hesitation. inkbuildsup In the tip and n...~ outsuddenly ..rhen}'OU ccmtlnut. mak­ing a line appear to be " .tak,. Thismeans)'OU must kncr.\' the:.-boleoutline of)'OW'rock befcre )'OU evenreach for the brush.

J APANESE INK P AINTI NG

stroke. Hov.'C\"t1'.makesure that thepainting shO'A'Sthe three-dlmen­slona1. hard. solid. and~}' char­acter of the roclt.This is achieeedby \"U)ing the amountof pressureusedwhile paln:land by using if ­roguJar.hapes. rem shadings,and d1fft:n:ntbrush IDO\-emcnts. Inorder for the stone to come woe .makesure the brush strou has \i ­taliq.'. ror that. of course. }'OUr hand

TheStudy of RocksIn addition co depicting objectS in •naturalistic5t)ie . svlfti-t .lso showsobjeeu abstractly. HO\\'e\'f.r. abstractobJttts never appear to be dud.inorganic. or gecmemc;rather. theiressence is lifeand energy.

for inscance, a rock is glcen lifet!uouBhthe d}-namlc usc of • brush

62

PAI NT I NG OaJf:CTS 63

Basic ""TIftOf0 1lDc/rWhile a rock.ls a pan orthe moun­tain. it is alsothe mountain's basiccomponcnL Try to givesparialchar­acter to the basteshape.

It would be """derful il you couldgl\'< I thrt e-dimetulooa1 qualityto I

stene with one S'ltt'iftstroke of thebrush. because ...-ben a line is dnrwn....ith one brush .stroke. you ha\<egr.'tn it Strength. and vitality.Stolt by - ioathe brush . ..i rh thetip It an angleand with sIlght pres­sure, tc theleft.I'<>Uowthrough,rt>-

Eblndl'lgIN basicJhaptoJ G roc"

tating the handl e between ycur fin­gers sideways and tncreastng thepressurewhile_in g the brushupwards.When you reach the up­per portion 01the rock.pull thebNSh down, " i th the rip 19ainItan angle. allcwtng the line first tobecome wider, by rotatingthebrush. and then narrower,As thebrush is pushed sld", 'Ij"S.the brts­des ",111spread OUt and ",hitespaceswill be created. When pain t­ing a group of roc.ks, al ""ll)'S paintthe one in the Icregrcundfint andmen those in back. 1£a rock 15un­..-.n!}' shaped and bas panku1arly,trong contours. stilt by painting Iroughoutline. Condnue to pal nt..;th sbcn, alternating. ",-erlapplngUnes (callt d loldlnglints ) tha t lndi·

care depth or shadows. A mon:compaCt Une looks darker. indicat­ing shadow, U necessary, emphasizepan 01the ItU by paintingwiththe brush held at mort of 10 angle.

Small dots added '0 foldingUnesrepresent mossgrowingon the rock.Dotspainted close togt'thcrwillmake the ink 01)';\'togt'ther. gMngthe surface of the rock a damplook. as if the whole surfacewereeeeered 'Withmoss. In general. thedots that indicate mossgrowingonthe rockare used15 accents or srm­pi)' as drcomion. U the dots appearhardand grainy. the stone wi ll lookrough.Make sure your painting con­\"e)"S vitality.as well as tone andrb}'thm.

II: For G compli Gltd , mort unn't nly shapedroclrG/wG,YJoutlint tht rough. lw lcformfirst.

ill: R«b pointedbdl lnd OIl< """, .'" (I. 2. 3)

U: Willi two

bnuh , ,,",,,,

1M CLuslcGl. ImaginGI)'LandscGJ¥In northern ChIna.waeee the c11·mate is harsh.paintingis clear, pre­ciscolinear. and rather obj«ti\ -e.On the other hand.paindngs &omsouthem ChIna.where light cond!­dons are mo", favorableand bumld­tty Is Ju&h,are much richer In thetrnuances. The paintings appear morespacious with mon: differentiationin shadings. These paintingsIrcmuchmoreI)'lical and expressive,

J APANESE INK P AINTING

Tht intention was to deepen thespaceb)' reduclnathe numberofobjectSdepicted In the pain ting andby crealingmore opm space. Zenmonkspalme d In this style ,

lJsinllthe clw1aJ elements)1lUha\-ebeen IOught50 far. try to ere­ate a lyrial landsa pe &om yourjmlgination.

Space in a Landscape

In conUUt to Western paintinp,..obichw'!:a pe:rspecti\"tfrom oneputicularvtewpcint, space in inkpain rlnp Is a!wa)~ viewed&om... .eral points . This Is called the three­distance methDd. This methDdIn·cludeshortzanwdIstances, &omrish'to left or &om left to ri8ht.thedistance that representsdepth. andthe \'u tlc:aldistancefrom metop ofthe picture to the bouom, or vtce\"trsa.Byex. mining the distanCeofI mountainfrom aboveand frombelew, the art1st not only deter­mines the heightof the mountain,but a1soits ", lume.

/

TheCompositionof aPainting

eom..ntlotla1paintings Itt createdby dMding the area of the pietuteinto fonground . middle ground.andbaclrgtounclIt Is on easywoyforyou to ac:hiC'\'t:depth and to au.te:a narunl spatla1ItnptWlon. Butthis Is DO'the only rule of thegame. YoumightI...... Out the mid·dle ground. tr)"OW' main intereSt isin the background. you can high.Ugh,It by "'i ng darlt Ink.

Once 19ain. 1want to emphasizethat an ink painting is not necessar­tly meant to produce a naturalistic.realistic pictUrt: rather. it is an at­ttmpt It find1na the essenceof anobject or landK:apt. as ,,-ellas your0"'Il personalperception.

1'CnIGrr walkfng-

.... 10"1 th<""'" isIIItll .... iTem rhegrassoj th<field.(Buson)

For du t reason.alwaysStart 'li thda t which represents your primaryfocalpoin t. OCcourse. a p. intingwill look more natural if ebjecrs inthe foreground an: larger andpainted in darker shades. and ob­jects in the backgroundan: smallerand punted in lighter shades. Ide­ally. COntrasting objects in a com­position should occupy the 'l-hite

DlffnmalS In Ol_and J"l"'- Ink PalntlJ18S

I am oCten asked Ibout the differ­ence between j apanese and Chineseink paintings. The roots of j apaneseink painting80 back to the four­teenth century. The)' came fromChina where, as already meadcned.two different styles al.Radyexisted.These were the objective,distinct,and sry1izedlines of nonh em Chinaand the subjective, lyrical, and ex­preestcestyle of southern China.The latter style came to Japan [0­

gether with Zen Buddhism. Thejapanese aesthetic sensibilities an:clearly expressed in these choices.as well as in the waysumfof subse­quent!)· d" -eloped in Japan.

My Japantse teacher. as • way ofint roduc tion , \\'lIS painting an orchidin absolute sueace and extreme an­dctpanon, usingonly a fewbrushstrokes that were almost iDYtsible.Another student, watching inamazement, exclaimtd that It wasdifficult Cor her to describe thebeauryshe sensed in the painting.WhIle only a hint of inIt touchedthe paper the "breath" of the or­chid seemed to touchour faces,quieti)'. delicately. The O""",r wasonly I shimmer oCUCeemthe paper.but the space $W'l'O'UDdingit was11k<a largeprotective .. u.The pee­als of the orchid became the centeroCthe cosmos. It was an experience

P AINTI NG OI JECTS

space. whlch gives depth [0 mepaindng. Cor nrasttng objects shouldalsohave a harmoniousre:lationshipto tach other. literally and mentally;for instance. contrast between de­tailsand whole re:presenradons. be­tween moo.'emenu seemingly origi­nating from and leavtng thepainting or coming from the outsideand meMnginto the painting, and

that g&\'Cme a sense of total happi­ness. Allof us feh the buut}· in thepresence of tha[ flower.

In comrast. the style used to pain tthat orchid wasnot what myChinese master undemood an inkpainting should be. For him the or­chid must be created in a clear, dis­tinCtform IlS required b)' Chinesetradi tion . For that reason. he made• pencll sketch to shov.' me whatthe orchid looks llke in nature.E\'<ntholllYt.ryliu d Chinese inIt~tings are, to be sure. ncr realis­tic representadcas of nature, like aphotograph, theyare very naturalis­tic studies of nature. This is a stylethat bas as its underJ}'i.ng concept adesire Cor idealization and does notnecessarily depict nature in a prob­lematic sense.

A German student proudly showedour Chinese master hispaintingwhich depicted a bare, d)'ing pinetree on '. mountain. The muter im­mediatel}' reached Cor hisbrush andpainted needles on the branches , toshO\!o'hew strongand enduring thepine tree is. The student wasspeechless and then outraged thathis depiction of the destruCtionofnature was discounted and changed.However;Cor the Chinesemaster.bound by his tradition, it was un­thinltable that the pine tree . thesymbol of long life. wouldshed itsneedles, He said. "No. what you

65

between primary objects and ob­jeers that are secondary,etc.In ll»' fanlllS)'landscape on thepage [0 the left, 1 painted [he cabinfirst.1 "sal" myselfin the plcture ata cable. men I "planted" the treesand rocks and sprinlded sand everthem. I concluded the paindo g byadding the seashore and the moun­tains in the distance.

painted does DO [ exist. Did }"OU eeerobserve something like it in na­ture?" This "observing with the in­tellect" is an objcctive attiNCk, aswh en a painter expresses in wordsmany of the theories and principlestha t are to be adhered to when crt ­ating Q. painting, These theories andprinciples ha\.. been handed downto us. Theyexlst:in Chinese paint­inS' . in contraSt to Japanne onn.where observations are much morcinfluenced by subjecm't (eclings,

In addition to a more objective. log­ical depiction, Chinese ink palmusalsoadmire the claril)' expressed indj'namiclines. 11SOIll<thin8 Ismeant to be hidden. Chinese anisadepict it in symbols, whlle japaneseink patmers often UK symbolismorsuggestivenuances of mood. Japa·nese ink paintings require:a "beinginside ," When M)' japannc masterpainted a Dower.this ROWttWI5

rcacbins out towards light, towardsthe open space. and the lmAand reaching out liI."OUldflawtnl O

the while space. My Chinese IJII5ter

was ponraying what he was point.lng. When he painted trees . cheywould stand arrogandy apinst thewhite space, which they perceleedto be a bltsSing frombej'ond.

When 1inoked at the painting rrrcsin Doyligh, by the ltalim painte ,Morandi. I was immediatelyre­minded of trees as my Cbinrscmaster painted them.

66

Reflections in theWater

Ink palndD&>lend lhtmseh", wellto paintingttflec:donsin the:\\'1ur,sincewater is pan of meDowofInk. The _ ponlon Ilong lhtedgeof thewater. createdbyever­lappingtw O brush "",kos. gi\'" lhtpalnrlngI senseof tulity . Whatis£a.scinatingto me is thatthespaceIppom to beeeee rulIy largethroughthe repedtlon of the reflec­tions, whichStemsto evokefeelingsof etemity. Thisthemealwlys te­mindsme of thepaintingsof .... terlili .. by the f,. nch Impressionist

JA'AN!5~ bue PA1NTING

Monee In his piClUra. just u In Inkpalntinll'. he wu oIwoystrying tobecomeonewith Dawn:. Thereflec­nonof the skyIn his palndD&>re­\'Ca15depth and eternity. wblch.eeen thoughIt Is painted In dy.namicbrushstrokes. appearsto meto be similarto W ",bitt spaceinink palndD&>.

In contraSt10 Monct's 'A-ondcrfulsymphonyof color, Ink palndD&>re­£rainfromthe use of worldlycolors.Wuhow:color. the&tmOIphcreofsdllnessandradiantpeacefulnessisIntcmified. HarmonyIn thepaintingIs .... ted by the U)'DUllCtricII bol·ance of rcolityand Illusion.

Whenpainting• picturethatcon­Wns reflectionsin water. stan wiq.the trees. Thosethot are closebysbou1dbe larger and pointed indarktrshadesthanthosethatarefarth.r ...-.y. wblchshouldbesmallerand In %bter ,hodes. Thenpaint thertfieetion of the trees intheW&W'. Whllt the inkis 5tiDwet ,paint the shore and then the shore­line reflectedin the ... ter,

P AINTING O BJECTS 67

68 J APANESE. I N" PAINT ING

••

•••

,

painted spaces. In thebeginning.choose simple shapesfor ,.'our snow1,ndsctpe5.suchas the one below.so that youbecome familiarwiththe technique. You shouldaIsoex­periment with clilferen'typeS ofpaper.

I-•

SnowscapeSnaw. symbolizingpurlty and rran­sitoriness. is a Cawritt mot1£forinkpainters. SROWin a landscapeis not"painted ," of course. Rather. spacesart left unpainted and white. Thatwhich is not snow15painted, To""'aid haM CcmtOUl'S. thewet brash,fiUed ..1m three ,bades of 10k, Isguided a!otl&the edge of the 5IlOWwith O'owppingstrokes. Whenus­lng Gasen-sJUpaper. ",...u ppingstrokespreven t the harshtramldonsoften created by usingdifferentshades. lmlSitlons dlsliItedby man)'mists. Paperwtth • hJ&hgluecce­tent. suchas TorInoJro. or watercclcrpaper. Is Idealfor achievingsoftCOI1toUl5 andgentletra.D51tionsbe­tween differentshades. as '1;cUastransitionsbetween paintedand.un-

•

I

PAINTING O BJECTS

Fint SMW

Snow-Co\'trtd cabin

69

•

70 J APAN ESE INK P AINTING

More Landscapes

I get""ry sad when I hear peopleSly thatbambooand other so-calledOriental motifsarc the bestfor inkpaintings. Wubout question. bam­bootrees and Chinex mountainsareof grtat imporunce in inkpaintings. Aftera1I,these motifs"" .. a!wa)~ been I <Ita!pan ofthese paintings.

Ne\>-enbtless. whyinsist W t West·em landscapes or other motifsnotbe U5CdIn ink palntings11fyouW'f sufficient experience. )'00

mtght try )'ourhand at a Westernlandscape. HC""'t\-er. 1£youbeginexpe~ndng with Westernmotifstoo soon.)'00 mightend up "'i thpicturesthatlook like Wtstem--st)'lcblack-and-"'ilit< photos painted Ininkwith . pen. Yourpaintingwillbe missingthose:fine nuances re­ated by proper .shadingaswell asthe inruith"t character of painting.Using\\au~rn motifs for inkplllnt.tngs too carly",ill not makethemink palntings.

PAINTING OIJECTS 71

Anclloml _Iwhe n paintin& the boac start bypullingthe tip of the brush from thefrontto the bock edge. then push.Ing to the end of the bock edge. Inthis ..-.y. )'0\1 gi\.. the boat vluUty .From there, proceed to theow rob]ecl5. Cloudsare painted by hold­Ing the hantfie of the brushat an• and _ing it holizonuUyoo.-r.r thepaper.

72 JAPA NESE bn e P AINTING

•

/1-

From Sketchingto PaintingSince ink paintings donot anemprto depict obJ<ct5 In photolllc<real­Ism, )'OU do OOt need to be toull) '

occupied with the re1atIoIW11p be­tween the s1u of objects or wtthlight and shadow, N....errhel... . )'OUneed to hin-ea clearidea of whatyouwantto paintbeforeyou reachlor )'our brush. ThereIore, alwaysmakea sketch or)'OUr palmina first.A sketch. comparedwith a photo.produces a muchmore intense andclearptcnae .

For Ink pain tings . It Is partic:pJi.rlyhelpful to malt<a sketch fint. ThIscan beusedas a clrafroras • re­mindel'.Youarethen freeto follow)"OW'inspiration. becausejust oneline in a sketchwill determine if enobject is • srcne or a potato. The5tn1ctUa and the c:haracuristlcsofan object lmlS t be c1<arlyd<finedInorder to paint in deliberate and de­termined brush strokes. Evm moreimpotUnt is theenthusiasm and thepositk-eattitude)'0\1 bring to theproe... of pain ting aOOto the mo­tlf, Sk<teh onlywhat has touchedyour lmaginadon. Only then cake acloser look and makemorede­Olched ObstlVll-'. caprurlng theessentialcharacter or the object.

Sk<tehing an object will help in de­termining how roo",'&nt to tlCprtSSyourideain )"OW'painting.howtodivide thespace andthe lM'o"tment~1th1n the pictUt<. how to hold thebrush, what the lines shoWd looklike. including how wide. long.andIn what shadingthey should be.

AfttlWUtls.thinkabout whatIt Isthat roowenr to express. ~torr:often than no... sketch will a1mdy

Nwlt sRtuJlhtcha~

PAINTI~G a lJEen

haveanswered that. Then begintosimplifythe form, redudng it to theabsolute essentials.

~stlUfy

l am Iilsdnattd by the po! "'"' ofthe woman, particularlythe openspacesurroundingthe closed . andat the samt dmt liu anawlna.lints.b<gInnIng!tombelow and Oooingupwardseeer the back into theright shoulder. While nI) ' eyesfol­low the outline of the model the

73

chalkIn my hand """ ... almostbyitst lL lht lines appear on the pa.per. etU dng the sbape of th< bodyon the ernpt)'past . It is interestingto note that I ITlO\Td tht chalkas ifit werea brush, so~times eerti­ca1l)'. scmeumesal an angle.andeven rotatingit bt-tv..eee D'l)' fingers.The lines on the paper are rich Innuances, sensual,d}'llImlc.bt<a,h­ing. It Is tII) ' hope tlw the lines ex­pressDOt onlywhat 1 see butabo",-hacl feel

J Ar ANU E INK PAIZ'Il'U NG

SlIt".oJ . d4>l4t11o.

f

DaruklionsD1nd.UOll5blooming 011 I carpetof grass, eh.ttfuI and Ih"ly. like lh­de children- this impression of sim·ple and jo)fu11ire is wher I want toexpressin ink. BeforeI evenbeganto sketch the:I lcwers, I knewex­l ed)' what they looked like and whythe le:l\"'tShadsuchan unusualshape. How exuaonlinary are thoseserratededgesof dandtllonleaeeslAfter 1had painted the blcssces . Iadded the 1-.... uc h one with I

swiftstroke of certafnry. To addliftto theplant,thesmallerOOW'u \\'1.S

pcstdoned more to the left. 1keptmort ",'bite space on therightside.

TheTOWIIof HddeIbergI dMded the space lor thls paintinginto 1Mforeground\\'ithtrees and asloping Incline , ,h.mlddl. groundwnh the buildings of lb. old """n.andtilt mountainrangein tiltbacJwouncl.My intenIia:I 1Io'lSto create I con­trast between thetrees in the Icre ­groundand the old castle. In chebeginning, l lookedonly at thecas­de. then at thetrees andthe:moun­lain range.and finallyintO chedis­tanC.farbeyond.

•I wasimagining. 10'''(story, piaur ·ing the ri\~r. chenlined castl. 01.pov.'Crfulruler.allof ir mortal.Ir isa motif (ba ( is as nu:h • symbolorchepast as I, Is orlocby.

P AINTI NG a . JEe TS

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Gladioli

PAINTINGWITHCOLORThe Role ofColor

Ink palndnS' ""'"fluenced by Zenits ' 'U)'ing shades, ItP color. Inocher v.'ords. there is no ''' 'Oddly''II>< of colored paints. E,'<Othoughonhod ox Odnese:ink painters imis tthat shelnt<nsItj' of Ink can p.....

t\"try existing color as well as lightand dark.color lw alwaysbeenused in paintings. ucc pt in zee\\'000 . PaintlDp that Ind udt color... only called ink paintings wthenink i5 alsoused.

Howeve:r.I believe that Ink, with itspecuUarchara cteristics , mu5t pb}'the most impo rtan t rote in a pictutt:if a painting is to be called an lnkpain ting. It is important that thecolor not be put on the paper inla)'tl'S. Rather. it is used the same"'Tf 15 ink..In order to bring Ilfe tothe painting, the Un.. , hould ha-...spatialquallt)'.

In any case. if rOIlII>< color. mak<SUl't the outcome is more beautifulthan if )'OU had eeeetil< palnling Inink anIy. Ink and color should en­hance t ach ether.

If you paint pink-colored plum-treeblossoms. thc).should. when con­rrasted to the (wigs and branches.apptar eve n more detrcare. mort'fragrant"' and graceful. and the

branches should lookeven mongerand mort m-ely. even if ink p1:t}'5anIy• se cedary roI<. A 5<Udtnt\\-nohas been studying wtth me (orsome timt told me that he feelsmort comfortable. mort sure. andsafer when he U5t5 the "color" hecreates with ink.in spitr of the b etdw . in the beginning. he did usecOD\"e.ntional color in his .." rk.

A palftlilt,(do>lt10 lot .-4pczlnrlngdOM \rim~cHtTColor

I

77

78

First paint wimW4ttrCotor. . . . .. d!maddUte 1M

Which Color IsAppropriate?Traditionalwat ercclcr inksaremade by mlxlng colorfastpigments.u well as mtneral and plantpig.mcntsand pulveriaed shells. withglueandwater. For delicatcshades.1recommendplant and earth pig.ments that arc .,...tlable in flakeformor aresold in small ccn­Wnet$.

Toc:b.)', Western wa eercclcr pameJ.caruaf. palnts or Chine:stwarercc­lor paints areused. HO'O\·t\~r. tht) .arcnot war erprecl. Thisoften CR ·

ales a problem ,,-henusingthewe r­lappingmethodor whenthe paint.ing is bting nXnmtN. H(M'e'\'tr.theseproblems can be elJmJnaledb)' ..... "'Proofing the paints "i llt aglue specifically mad. for thispurpose.

_ of their so"",,,",, loudcolor. I do not use either Gcmsaiorwatercolor paints. 1prefer gouacheand\\:estem""lutolo r pain[$..Paperwtth good absorbing qualitymaintains Ihc brilliance of balltGcmsai andChinesewatercolorpaintsbetterthan\ \'n tem paints.

It is perfectly okayto use normalwatercolors thatare sold Insncksor in liquidform. Color sucks. orlg.inally made from pwe _etal pig'mene , todayha\'t seeeral ethercomponents. You aeed a separateEding stoae made fromporcelaintor each color. Thtname "colorInk.. · only mum that Ihcyarc\\ '1tuproo f.

WimI14II. as In the example """ ... liteIlewer is the "main actor" and 15tobe created in color. paint it fim. Iused Ihc foll""ing colo.. of gouachepaine cadmium red.uJ""·OO\1'

blue; cadmium)-ella.\o;anddtlD1um,,"hilt.

80th\\'atem watercolor andgouacht paInts app<a<dull on ab­sorbentpaper. Theylose IIlllChoftheir brilllance. However, if )"OUh1\'"tloaded thethreediffertntshades of color in yourbrushcare­fully and cleanly. your palnlingwI1lstill tum OUt "'trybeautifully. Dar­ingmounting(see page 90). someof the:brillianceof the colors maybe restered.

After1'OUha\.. compteted thellowu . .... Ink to paInt lit. leav... .Followthi>b)' addingthe "' i85 whhchrlcInk and the stems of Ihc llow.e.. "i llt lighie r Ink. Us<dry. suooglinu. Addtht stemSthatarewind­ing aroundthe twigs . \Vb<ntheIe" ... arc almostdry. draw in Ihc\'<ins . To add \i tallty to Ihc paInt·ing. )'OU might"..nt to l*nt Hrdedotson thet'\1gJ. If) "O\Iwanttolone downtheccntrasrbetween

PAIN TING WI TH COLO& 79

color and ink. mix a hlm of coloron the Ink. or a hint or ink on thtcolor.

Iris (OIlsiud paper)The picture or the iris was paintedon sittd paper. Gouachecolors DOt

onl}'adhere beau to paper that hasbeen sized. they JR also mortfu"C-ly: lnk, beeeee r, loses some ofill fine. subtle qualities.

Cltryscmtllmlumror the chr}-..nth<1D.lIDI usedamixture thaI contain ed Justa hint ofink and the rollowingwatercolors:carmine reelcadmiumred. and co­balt blue. By adding ink to tM water ­color and using Gum -.shipaper Corthis palntlng each ",-.dappingstroke crn.tU a white edge. givin&the Dowera thrtt -dim<nslona1ap­pearance.

Otrys.:a1ltfttrlUlm(hili andWdW'tDlor)

•

80 J APANE SE IN K PA1~TING

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Mount RuIrlhomIn lite AUgau1£~'OU want to assignmajor empbe­sis to the inkanduse color only toenhance yourpainting. stan bypainting\\1m inkand thenwithcolor. Thissequence.is necessarybecause when the color drles. thepaper ""illbecome "'To'Y. makingitdifficultto cirrar eeueaeelinesandStrOngshapes. You can onlyworkp"'pt r!ywith eeee shades of ink....ohm.thepaperis dry.

•\0- In this mmp le. 1 first painltd the- _ - foothills In bread seekes . .dding

the mountainrangein W distance.snd then tht focalpain. Mo.ntRubihom. After 1had sm:...rullypalmed the foothillsand tht focalpoint. 1added Empine trees in the:fOr<grDWld. Only then did 1painttht accents with indigoblue:.

Fint (M Ink . . .

lfound It fasclnadngto observehow • fewsuokts of blue instantl)·turnedthe,,1lJtt. empty spacesinl Osnow.LaIteA",rnenceill thts picture of LakeAmmersee. 1U5<d colorwith • mong. broadbnab sm>kc. after 1painted thobolt and the mountain in ink. Thecolor expressesthediminishingwamub of tht day J&"lnsttht coolbreezeof tht appn>aclUng....,ing.

PAINTI NG WITH COLO" 81

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StiU.....Forthts picmre I underscored tht", ilig!u mood It duskby lI5Inghighlydiluttdwatercolors to createthe space bej'Ol1dtht Ink painting.

82

PRACTICEMOTIFSWhatfoUO\\'"arcexamplesora JewpopularlllOlils. I MY<not Includedany d\recdons. Try to paint lhemusingwhat you ha\.. learned so far.JUSt let )"OWStUgetInto lhe moodwith the help of the accompanyingtext.

J APANESE INK P AINTIN G

Cowst SP ' these rwe CO\\'5 on • meadowduringa moment of absolute quiet.Only the sound of !hdr ruminadombetrayed theirexistence . Theyaresucll curiouscreatures , not easilyIntimidated. This picturecomesam..becauseof the unity of thelines and spaces.The qualiryof theUnesis an attt:mpt to comer thehu\-inessof thecows. nuscompo­sition is lhe resultof the Ii",impression I Iwl when I clisc",'e red!hem.

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Pt ACTI C! MOT IfS 83

CGtSomebodypointedOUt to me dwcatsarea frequentmotifIn J.p'.nese pain tings. Might the re...,., bethat th<fur or .. many Is black andwhite?Or 15it becausetheyareIo.-.dl A cat in such a post appealseeea to me.

In her dream, the eat 1m .... backto the ' 'e ry beginnlngor exls<e""•.Theseal SI}". " Drutn$ are myhome."

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f

I

Bo4tThemost beautlfulpan of ' hispaintingis the whitespace. It ap­pun to beInfinite. The lightat thebdg}\(orthe summerseasenis 50

brigh~ I' ol!en a g1lmp5<InlDeternity. In ,he mldday quie~ thepresent becomesone"ith infinitelime.

84

CyclalllDlF1...-ersdancingon the "globe ofleeves ." Thisis mym'Ori~ OO\\'U ·

iIlg plan,. Birth and death meet onthe mrrry-go-round called nature.The cyclamennever1os<sitsbeauty.

-_. ....

Using Motifsand MaterialsPlayfully '

HatsUbokuon WGttrcolorpaper

P RACTIC E M OTi n

AbstTaaLan~As a child. my dreamwas to fly,,'th the douds. In this picture. IfU'Stpainted the "direction" inwhich the cloudswere moving. Youmayfollowthis by addingcumuluscloudswith I wet brush whoseedges are blended into the whittspace. douds CODlt alivt and"mcse " throughthe marks left bybristles that spread OUL

Hatsuboku ..... -sui !'lllnkd onW,"ercolorPrIperMaull means " pouring on." bo"" is

l~ __ - '"

87

" ink," and san-sui means "land­scepe.' in a general sense ; in thtnarrower sense, it means "mountainand.water.' Hatsubob is a Itch­nique for subjeCID"e, spontaneous,and expressbe creations.

J USt as with the we t-en-we t methodIn watercolor painting. you begin bymoistening and then pouring "erylightInk on the paper. After the pa­per has dried. you add other .1.­menta. such II mountains . birds .and trees. letting the ink usedforthem blend in naturally.

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88

F4rcwc1l(pafnted0" ShUd-shtOil: G goJd-colomlbad<go'oundj

JAPANESE iNK P A1NTIN G

farewdl (on Shlk!·sh! papa )This is a combinationorc1lS5icaland modem mot1fs. Many paindngsdone duringthe slxttenth and !CV ­

entr:enmcenturiesusedpapa cov­ered with gold le. l <,'e n if the in­tentwaspunly to add a deccradvetoucll.the dfea or the rdl<cdonand the space seemin&Jybursting..ith bril1lantIi&btis truly enchant­in&-The imge or tlUDil) · comes lO

mind.

PaA CT1CE M OT IfS

Nude 8""" ~hIn a corl\'tnticmalsketch. the .rtist.when sketchinga bodyon (lilper.usuaIJjr usesmany separate brushsuobs. HO\\' different is thisinksketch!Heft, almostin a singlesaoIct.the brush """oedlrom headto toe, turningalternately to theIdtand the rlgbt.and resting only tem­porarilyon a fewpIa es to createthr shape. Thearm"''as paint«lwith tM second stroke. Starting Itthe .houl der.

89

Thebrush "knew" ho9,. it wanted tobe mcced. Thepicture was finishedin no rime.

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AFINISHEDPAINTING

MOUNTING1am sure you havebeen dtsap-pointed whena finishedPlctu.rtlooked differentafterthe inkdrted.1£you workedwith a lot of water.W paper, DO doubt, became"'IV)'.Thatis one of the cha.ractcrtsdCSorpaper. It gets mort or less unC\'t.11

when it becomeswet, no matterhow thick or thin th< paper b . Gte)·tones seem to be dullerafter theink bas dried. I'artlcW rly when thedifferencesIn the shades of the inkarc minimal, or when thc~ is nodark ink anywhereIn the painting.th<painting look> Iifd... . In otherwords, it does not look as nice as itdidwhen it "..as wee

Much can 1><corrected by mountingthepaintingon paper. In the pro--cess. the paper wlll 1><'moothedout. and "life" be restored. Mount­Ing aboprotects th< palnring. TbeRaregoodreasonsfor mounting apainting.ecea if the process$Cemsto be cumbersome and timt<on ·suming.an opinion sharedbymany. This 15the reason framlnginkpaintingsis a eraIt alll ts own.requiringspecial tralnlng. reels, anda lot of experience. In Japan. mostartists bring their paintings to a,peclal!)' shop. becausemy fewpeople havethe courageto tackleitthemselves. E\'crybod)' knov.'5hO"o'easily paper a n tear. panicularl)'when it is stillwet.

Oncloser examinadon. mounting.I,mallpalming 15not aUlbat d1fli·cult. After youh2\-cmounted apaintingJUSt once, and experienced

90

tht .mazing lmproeement, youwillundertakethisjob mort often. Spe­cialistsknow a lot of dif[crent meth­odsCormountinga painting. How­ever, for beginners. t recommendth<Coij"..ingmethod. It yIddsgoodresults.

Hut is what youneed:

I. ll>per. Us<anIn~ . ...hite,Japaneseor Chinese paper. Un~

der no circwnstl DC6 shouldyouuse \\Utun paper with a highglue ccasent, The paper should1><largeetlDU@h10 m end I '/. to1'1>inches (3 to i em) be)'Olldthe edges of the painting.

2. Glue. The besr glue15....upaperpastethe sameconstmncy IS

that usedto prepare a wall,3. Brush. 1IKa Vlide one with soCt

bristlesto brushthepaste ontO

the back of the painting.i . Bnah. This one ..ill 1><usedto

press the painting on the paper.Youtnl )' use I clothes brush.apaperhangingbrush.or setae­thing slm1\ar.

S. Spraybold<. This 15for ,prayingthe paintingwith v..alec. You canuse an ironing sprayboule or I

'pray bottle used for houseplants.

6. Oldcau,,"ragsorpt:pCTtowtlJ.These will keep yourwork art.clean.

7. A smoothsur/au, This can be awindowpane or I mirrorused15• surface for dryingafterthepaintingbas been mowned.

M OUNT ING A F INISHED P AINTING 91

,,,GI

tit ail under the painting. Unthe paper olr .,.,.fuIIy and letmore air enter. or blaa' air imothe pocket.

8. The paintingmaybe'dJ)'withinan hour;however, il is wise tolet it dl'}' a.-emigbt.

9. WhenrtJlllOring the paintingfromthe g1w . lin ir carefullyb).""0corners. U it don not:seem ro Iifr olr culI) '. 5Iid. theedge or tip o( a knifeunder thepoper loop (the on. ext.ndingpasr the edge), Ioo5<ning thepaperaround the edgesfromthe g1IS5ourface. Glueand pa.per Teh011the gIw are easilyrett'Oo-edwithwater.

10. RetnO'o"t:the excess paperfromaround !he painting with. pa­pet cutter. if} "OUwan t to Cta.methe picture. Ieeveenoughof thesuppcrttng pap« aroundthepainting. ThIswtll make I.....ier to position the paperaccu­ratelywhen framing. It is notnecessaryto use passe-panoutwhen framinga painting.Man).tim6 it is tOOheavyfot a eeu­cate inkpainting.

supporting paper Is gluedtothe back of the poindng.Bub­bles andall) ' une\"t.nnessaft

remo<.. d by carefuli)'lappingthe brisdes of the bnah on !he_e.

6. Uft the painting olr !he llIble•using the uPP" edges. It youha-.. problem>. slide • 5CWingneedle alongthe edge. Holdthe edgebe", -een )..... fingersas the papercomes loose. Be­fore )"OUp Ut the paintingbad<

on thetable. makesuretha tthe .w .. Is cl.. n. Applygluero thaI pm of the 5UpportingpaP" that .",ends beyond theedge of thepainting. Attach.POP" loop under the edg. ofthe 5Upportingpaper This IsU5Cdro ur. the whole palndngolr !he mIrtoror gIw .Ct., Ithas dried. The POP" .hould be11/ . to 1111inches (3 to .. em)long.

7. The palndng Is nowglued .0 •gIw or mirror for drying.Hold!he paintingby two eeeeers.presoingthegluededgesto the_ e. Make5UrC there Is ...e.Iide", ail be", -een the gIwourfaceand !he painting50 thaI.. tbe glue dries, the paperdoesnot tear. If there is too lit-

1. Pb.. the paintinglactdov.."on• •mood>and eleanllIble.

2. Spray !he bad< oCthe pointingIigIulywUh...... t £rom!be. pray bottlt. B<.,.,.ful l It ch<paperamtOOwet. it will tm­mediatdy become_" . mak­ing It difficult for you ro .."OmwUhIt-

3. Car<fulIylin the paintingolrthe llIbl. and ..;poolr any ex­cess ......rer. Placrthepaintingbad<on the dry llIblc.

~. With !he bnah • •ppIj' the glueor pute to thebackof tbe:JWnting.se.ning from the:em ­ter and...."orkln' OUt to thecd&cs-Apply . Iinlepru5U1C '05IDOOl:hOUt any W1t'\ l!:n, wa\yopotS.

5. Gluethe oupportlng pope' ro!he back of the paJntina.Takethe supportingpoper in 1'OUrler. band and let il hang doo.'II.Hold .he brush in I..... righthand. Inorderto center the.upporting poptr proptrly. 1«the fint 1'1, inches (~ em) ofthe pop« _ 011the llIb!e andlowe' It olowlydown"' ..r theba.k oCthe palndng. Make5UrC

thatthe smoothsideof the

MountingInstructions

THE SEAL-THEARTIST'S SIGNATURE"f ragrant Grass" WlU the namegi\"tn to me by my master. Nothingveryspeclal: most people think h iJ• weed. but it I.s• fragrant weed lLater on. he ga \"e' me the name" Unit Elegance." This name and aseal ...ere a gih (rom him. It Vo'U anexd ting momcnt when he told lilt

tha t he "'115 about to choose myname, because this is the equh'alcntof a cutificatt bestowed only afterthe conclusion of a long apprentice­ship. It means tha t one ha5success­fullycompleted ooe's stUd)' and isread)' to continue the journey as Inartist. AddldOlUlly, I thought lit.name the mastcr would gh-r mewould be an indication of hO\\' he.sawme! WeU. "Llrtle Elegance" isalso the title of the oldest collectionof Chinese lyric poe try,

In ancient ti1'n6 . only rulers and In­stitutions such as temples cweedsellls. It \\'U not until the fourteenthcentury in China that indhidual an ­!SU. suchas painten and callign'phers. usedstats to !ign their work.This practice was not begun in Ja­pan until the seeemeemh century.

The sur!ace of the seal represents asmall cosmosand. in a W.t}'. is apicture in Itself.Th15pietUR oftt n5Ct'\'n as an accent or a balance totht cornposirlon.cm dng in har­mort)' within lite palndng. V.ry spe­cific characters. SCK&1led seallet­ters. are carved intOthe' surfa~ ofcOt1\"e:ntional sals .

Since the end of the ZhonDynast )'.from about 300 s.c. until lit. mid­dle of the sixth century A.D.. a ,.. ri­ety of seal letters was used. Toda)'.there arc:no limitations as far u the

92

choice of letters is concerned. Forinstance, the Japanese S)ilabar)'kana. as well as modem Chineseletteringand even Latin script. artin use today.

In the put. it ""IS CUStoDW'}'toprcduce ,,-hitt leners on a red back­ground(n'P O\" ) lor oRiehl and in­stitutionaluse and red lerrers on •"'hite ba<1tground(posim. ) lor liteslgnanue of an artis L Buteven thisrule no longer applies to an artist'sseal. The:surface of a sealmJ)' besquare. rectangular. oblong. a.'t1. orround. In times past. anists choseoblongsealswith texts written ver­dcally in lite upper right side. O\'l!and round seals often contatnedcongratulatot')' teXts . Later, textS

chcsea by lite artlsc such as a Hnefrom a poem. were used. 10 thepast. a seal not on1)' Idendlled lit.artist . but alsothe own er of 1Mpainting. wee e someone bought apainting or caJllgnphy, • sea1printtd on it identified ownershipand was a sign of hew much thepainting meant to the new own er. Itwas a kind of signature. If a poemor praise was added (0 the painting.the person would sign his DImeaswell as anach his 0\\'t1 seal. Man)'famouspainrlngs havea great num·ber of sealsprinted an them. slgni ­f}ing how much they were apprect­IUd ceer time b)' thdr respecdeeO't\"DUS .

If )'00 want to create )'our 0'\\ 'J:l. stal,look for I text that expresses )'OW'own perscnaliry. If)'ou want toM\-e severalseals. )'OU may do so.Choose the one that seems suitablefor a particular painting, or choosea seal 'fAith a shape or methat "ill

enhance the ",e rall composidcn oflit. painting.

Since andent times. the materialused for se:alshas been ccllecredfrom famous mountains in China..such as the ]lWlftOf Shridol stone.HO'\\'C\'t r. you can cenainly use asimple soapstone or even I pieceof wood.

Tht letters are carved \\ith spcda1kni\u that h.\-e twO finishedsides.HO\\'C\"tr, )'Ou can alsouse an etch­ing needle or a ,,'OOd-caningknife.

The ink Wt is usedhas lite con­sistency of thick boney. It is madefrom,"trmillon. certain oils, andplant libres, The_.raJpigmentscontained in me ink assure I beau­tiful, """ fading. durabl. Ink wilitgoodadhesn.. properties. Becauseof lite difficult)' in producing it, lit.ink is not cheap. HOWt\"tf, youcansubstitute aliter ch. mlcallypro­duc.d palDtsor inlu.

How to Carvea Seal1. The surfaceof the stone 11tU$( be

smooth and even. If it is DOt.puta piece of sandpaper on • fbtsurface.hold the stone "miea lly.and 1110\"it eeer lite sandpaperin large. drcu1ar tnO\'fments. ap-­plyingunlform pressure tiuou&h­out.

2. The letters art carsed into thestone in mirror image. ThIscanbe accomplish.d by copyingmemonto the stone from apiece of paper that has beenturned righr-stde down.

3. Theleners are CUt into me stonewith lite Clr'1ngknife. Makesure that the lines art DOt too

M O UNTING 1\ fl ZOUSHE D P AINTI t'"G 93

weak. Here. too. d)'t\amic! arcappreciated . A balance be tweentilt canoed and m e space or thesealIs importan t.

when til< sealIs linIshed. til< sealma1«r deUbenllely ..da)l1l3.. •• linesand edges to ma1« shemImgular .This .we..the seal appear to beold and ven erable. Don 't worrywhen your lines crumble a btt.

Where to Placethe SealIn general, a seal IY'IU5I:neverinter­fere with what has been painted. Astalls usually usedin a place whereyou havetried to create tnO\'tment

and where the seal seems to flowinto space. It rna)' also be placedwhere an object in the paintingneeds a counterbalance in the spaceon the paper.

My Seals1. " Unit Elegance"2. "Fragrant Grass"3. "Naomi" (true, naturaL beau­

dful)4. "Fragrant grass in the dis-

tance"5. "Little Elegance"6. "Truth"7. " a arily "8. "Something DIfferent""9. "The traveler is getting old

quickly"

10. "The dream is lD}' home"11. "A colorful room"12. "Sounds in the ink"13. "Lonely BoaC (l.oner)14. "Even in the distance there is

fragrant grass"15. "f ragrant grass in the dls­

tarlec"16. "Calmness makes change

possible"17. "Wake up"18. "Fragrant Grass"19. "A finished room"20. " In the Callthe water gets

cold"

II@

,. :'l>

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~1!i1."I·~ "'~~i~(\\f

~ ~

l&SJ

11

..-eu.Here, tOO, d}""mics areappreciated. A balance betweenthe carve d and Iree space of these11Is Imponane

Wh<nthe S<a1Is finished. the 5ealmak<, dd1bera" I)' ..damages" linesand edge. to mak<tIl<in1moguLu.ThIsmak<stil< se11appear '0 beold and ''mc nble. Don't worrywhen )_ lines t romble • bie

Where to Placethe Seal1DSmeraL• Ka1t1'IJSt I1n'U inter­Jere with whot IllS been poin" d. AS<a1Is usua1lyused in • placewhere)"OUM"etried to create nxr.~t

M O UNTING A f lN1SUf D P AINT ING

and where the seal seems to nowinto space. It !Ill)' alsobe placedwhere an object in the paintingneeds a counterbalance in the spaceon the paper,

My Seals1. " LluIe Elegance"2. " f ragrant Grass"3. " N.. m1" (true. .. tural, beau-

tiIul)i , "f '"8"" t grass in the dIs-

eace '5. "Uttle Elegmt'"6. ' "TNt/\'7. "CWiry"8. "Somtthlng Dille","t"9. "The tra,~Ie, Is gettlngold

quitkJy..

93

10. "The dream is al) ' home"11. " A colorful room"12. "Sounds in the ink"13. "Lonely Bear" (Loner)14. " Evt n in me distance there 15

fragrantgrass"15. "Fnagranr grliSSin the dis­

ranee"16. "Calmness makesching<

possible"17. "Wake up"18. "f ragrant Grass"19, "A finish<drccm"20. "In til< &D til< " ..te r gets

cold"

IN CONCLUSION efrom hI\-enot broughtgood re­sule. j apanese culturehas a _ to

lotgh'O. 1£}'OUmeant well and trled)'OUtbest,at the \"Cry least good"ill and the effortSexpended re­maIn.

In conclusion,I ,,'Ouldlike to thankan thosewho tOl<ralCdroy blindenthusiasmbecause<heYWClC

... 'Itt 01roy goodwill.Speda!thanksto Mr. Braun &omAuaustusV, rIag,withoutwhoseengagementand.eM.ct, so patiendy given. thisbook \\'OU1deeeer ha\-ecome about.

me 10 j apanese ink palntlng . Thismustbe true for you.too. Re.adingand workingwith this book roadeus pmners, togetherexplOringthean Cormof japlinese inkpainting.My bope is that this book hashelpedyou to findan anchcr; Pre­sentingthe ancient, traditionalst)1e.01ink palndngs in prlnlCdformcouldbe seen as an affrontagainstthis'"ttIerable an form.ShouldUl) '.one interpret it in thisway. or if my

I wish this boo k could~'O beencalledMy) .. "'9 In'" tit, Art ojJ_ 1M !\llndng. By " My Jour­ne)',.. 1mcIJ1 mine and the one )"ouundenook when youbegan. 1oftenthink it would be wonderfulto baveIi\"CtIin <heolden days.when tradt ­don was stilla constant put oCourculture. whenthe GrandMuter. aw1se manaswell u a grandfather.knew<heroad.and one could stUdy[or a wholelifetime, Howwongand PlOlCetedone wouldfeelwhensurroundctlby "" dition!ThisIs be­comingclearer to me every day. IfeelCll\}' and j«l ousybecause I 11­IO'A-cd rD)x lf to Ic&\'t my mastertmlChtoO early. finding111)... 1£''''Yalone on thisroclcytoid betweenEastandWC$l.

On the other hand.frommyChincx master I knowthe pressurecan becomehn\') ' when an artistisbound by tradttions . Fh'Ohundred)'carsago. Japan.unencumberedandfree. had no uadltion in suml-t.Artlstswere £1'«to employand ere­ate somethingthat becametotallytheir 0'0\'11. Now. ' 00 yearslater, itis yourturn. Be unencumbered andfree. Since Western cultureis 50 farrt IDO\'t d from Jlpane$(culture , itwill be • bit more difficultfor }"OU

to adaptto theChineseculturethanit was forus. But this dlstanccmight alsohaveits . ch,nfl&"_Youare [rete (0 experiment because)'OU

don't haveto be aCraldof or be in­dmldated by the ink and the brush,and intimidatedwe were. fromchl1dhoodon.

TMgoalis not to learnpaintinginthe old style 01j apanese ink paInt ­ing.or the old or ncv.' Chinesestyle01ink paInting. Whal I "..nt toachl.,'OIs to be able to be ptoU<!ofroy artwork. ThaIIs what blO\\ght

About the Author

- Born In Tok}'O. Japm. in 19' 1.-StudJcd palnliJl&,callignophy. us-

thelks, hlscory01art, and 0'... •lUI< .

-Studied under famousJapmeseand Chinese mast ... 01Ink paint­ItJ&.

- llu v.'Orlcedwith dlfl<r<nt tech­ni'l"" . bothfromthe w.otandEast (oU. .... tereelee , pastel. tnlt).

- Exhibited In Tok}'O.Bonn, Mom­ter, NaaoJd.Hambutg.Maonheim.and Dommmd.

IN CON CLUSI ON

- Since 1986 . tauahtink painting inmort than 150 coursesof Contln·u1ng Educationfer Adul.. (mu­KWDS . communitycolleges. erc.).

-In 1987 and 1988. togelher wilhthe Chinese master U Geog.taUghtsptda1e0un<5 in inkpainringat the InsoNlc of An inMllnSttr . Gennany.

- In 1990 and 1991. ta"&httnltpalndngat the Summer AcId.ttI)·in Waclgwt nlSutlan d. Gtnnany .

Notes Concerning thePicturesThe preferredfonnat Icr the ttttI!1 .gularpictures in this bookis 9- 10inches (22- 24 em) and Ii- I'inches (3i-36 em). Sometimes youcan determine the degree of reduc­_ by looking at the 5<11. Allpte­tures in this book-e\~n those thaiare shO'o\'llin black-and·whltc-h a\'cbeen printed In color in order 10

shaw the tnllDces Ind exqul5ltenessof the brush strokes.

9'

-A=poIb. )7

aocllmcdboot.71anthwtum...,~'9_ Hbomboo.e,12.27-29 . 70buies ol lJUtll-t. 8-2 1bUd one!a.....po!nlinl- ),bltd an a branch.3+. J'b<nb.8block Ink.8boot.8-lbN!ha. 1~1l

"",m>iond6IJloc.19-21.... 8)

CIWoaeInk po!ndnp. 56aDdJ' pIJ2at 0QtS., difWmces..65. 17

CIWoae....., Alb bnah. IIchf)"Mntbc Dl.ltrl.. 5]

douds.71. 87color. 77-8 1ccachmoa.9icomctiaal., 21. ..,COUOQrap. 12

COiIo'S. 82q_ 8.DlUldttiCl'lJ. 7iEgp/<w. '8"empdnw ." 9fuft~lI. 88. 89be tclI'ltcOt ofink. 12FuM of the Boy. -+,felt. 12~mok RUdy. 7)

fioh.23f ishhI, BOllt.i6bert . 8. 3'fl'.p.l'lt Gmt . 92GalU4i. 78~~f. 14. 17. 68good luck. 'l ...... ~ of. 30",""",,_.2"J'IndlniInk.11-12. 18&Mclinl stone. 10G\lcst,Hest. 'M $m1l1l.t. 50c;,.o...... 11haodmod<paper. 13lwmoay.8

and CCC1trUt.~Hamt bob"$lJt4v. f.,87

96

INDEXbnn. 6, 26H~75

Hoftta:Dllml CAStle. 16lmpraslorllst polnWf. 66Ink.11-12. 18-19. 221nk_ 10.12Ink ecee, 10. 11inner pace . 21

lnUDducrion."mnz1~ upmsioa. 8iris. -+3japan<x aUtun. 8ja pan<x """'" b...... 11Japanese""'"'JIlI"lI bMh. 11JI.Cl::su:nc.92Ko:MId.HUlltrAI\'tII'tM«. 81

bnd"...pc:paindc J . 8. 9. 3' . '6-7 0obsuoct.87c1' uJctJ,64

lin, v.1<Ith.19-20Unle Ekpnc, . 92-"'- .1....2Mw•.dst,. Ii, ...... 66moon, 29

::xNnWn and waitt painWlJ."Morandi. 49. 6'MoLmtFuji, 61Mount Rubihom.eomoundng pamlinp. 90-9 1

mushroom. "MustIrd-Sttd Garden. '3" nothingnus ," 9nude. 89emlJitRhln, Rh..,r. 700111M""'Y. 6ordtlds. 22. 2' -26pod. 12polnl1n&", . numbe" . 13polnl1n&","" , . 13-17painWl&tK!ulJqua . 22-47painting\Itm.Jlls. t0- 12pipe r, B - 17

rn.akm&and the t D\itun mcnt. 13po",<W<>gIu.12pima . 19pun; , 50-5 1",nmloa. ......... oith. 21

pI1Ilotopby. "pine cee. 33plum-trtt branch. U. 30-32poppy. 37-40praa\drl& lius . 22-3'prmoontory. 46-+7rip . 10."tu!.- 9_ 9.62 -6)-. ldtal or.4JSbn f-p. '6..... . 92-9 3S1Itidnlm . 92Slti.<l-sklpiper. 89oUk.H<impIicOy.8"""&-1)olmdmlg.. , . 73-75SXM-.:ape. 68-.. bnuh "Jl<. 19spact . cnacina.37- +7sabIlliy.oymbolsor.305llll ur..48-"subcoaliciouslcn&inP. 3'Tall Mcnuum"UlJ'. Not Mault to It

ClfMbd, ' 6rAdoMbrushq-lf., 19Taoism, 9ttl C~rmlCIl)'.J~. ..,tnpor. 541lIt IWntRiwr. 9'tM t-distanee rnnbod. 64To'ronOlft4,61rorf~s1Il, 1... 68uees, 57-'81't'ttf 'nDaylight. 6'wllp. 39v.'Ittr. rd1ecdonsin. 66watt r camaine.ts. 12'4'1t~rcolor plptr. 68. 87v., ttrcctors. 13WUPUlsv.iIIow. 60\\Ul: t m p' inrinc. 6

one!Ink poln""I- 8_'hiu platt . 12whitt surfau. 8Wh!tt rumip. 49v.iUcM·, 32'41steria. 78un Bnddhism, 8, 9. 6' . rt