The Art and Technique of Sumi-e Japanese Ink Painting

The art of sumi-e, which literally means "ink picture," combines calligraphy and ink-painting to produce compositions of rare beauty. This beauty is paradoxical-ancient but modern, simple but complex, bold but subdued-no doubt reflecting the arts spiritual basis in Zen Buddhism. At the same time sumi-e is firmly rooted in the natural world, its various techniques serving as the painter's language for describing the wonders of nature.

"Art and Technique of Sumi-e Japanese Ink-Painting" explores this ancient technique. Buddhist priests brought the ink stick and the bamboo-handled brush to Japan from China in the sixth century, and over the past fourteen centuries Japan has developed a rich heritage of ink-painting. Today the artistry of sumi-e can be admired in books, reproductions and museums, but the techniques of the art have been much less accessible. As a result, little information has been available to the inquisitive Western artist attracted to ink-painting. This book, designed to help remedy that deficiency, is the product of the author's study with her teacher, Ukai Uchiyama, master calligraphist and artist.