Sumi-e Painting

Just like ikebana I feel I can’t get enough of it, the journey is very exciting and everyday/lesson is a new challenge.

Today’s lesson was just using sumi-e (ink) to paint sake cups and bottle. A very important aspect of this is the correct loading of sumi-e on the brush followed by the direction of your stroke. Patience is one of the philosophies behind sumi-e painting and from this being in touch with your brush and working as one. The similarities with ikebana are so close I am finding it difficult to separate the two art forms.

I enjoyed the process of painting the sake cups – to get into the rhythm; I sketched in very pale sumi-e before learning the painting techniques. Before too long I was having to paint without any guide lines and the end result was a collection of very rustic looking cups and bottles, which I found very pleasing to the eye.