sumi-e

Sumi-e, the art of Asian brush painting, literally "sumi"=ink and "e"=painting. (Pronounced soo me a.) A very ancient art, students learn by imitating their teachers' work, learning traditional subjects and specific techniques using special equipment and papers. There are three schools of Sumi-e painting - "flower and bird", "landscape", and "figure" painting. Kay's concentration is on the "flower and bird" and "landscape" schools and lately, P'o Mo.

The common term for the handmade papers used is "rice" paper. Actually most are either cotton or other natural fiber papers, such as kozo and mulberry. The black ink is a stick of compressed soot and water soluble fish bone glue, ground to a thick consistency with water on a stone. In addition, Kay uses Chinese mineral and vegetable colors and a minimum of high quality tube watercolors to create the rest of the spectrum. The handmade bamboo-handled brushes used in Sumi-e differ from western watercolor brushes in almost every way - from their construction to their performance.

The unique visual quality of Sumi-e is created largely by the techniques. Brush loading (several colors or values on the brush at the same time) and specific brush strokes combined with the unusual absorption properties of the papers create a curious blend of control and spontaneity.

Sumi-e paintings are simple in composition and are full of harmony, overall balance and peace. More important than the representation of a subject is the expression of its mood and spirit - its "essence." Many aspects of traditional Sumi-e have symbolic meanings. The ink, colors, subjects, even matting, represent seasons, heaven and earth, gentlemanly virtues, etc.

P'o Mo painting, or "splash ink" painting is an ancient Chinese technique, though the results look contemporary. Thickened watercolor or ink is poured onto rice paper or a gold or silver leafed "shikishi" board. (*A shikishi board is a paper board, covered with rice paper or gold or silver metallic, then covered with a very sheer piece of rice paper, with the edges of the board finished in gold trim.) The color is manipulated with brushwork and by tipping and allowing the inks to blend and bleed. The painting is left to dry and then is continued by defining areas with brushwork to reveal a more recognizable image - usually a landscape, but a figure or a floral painting could be the result also.

e-mail the Artist!