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3Q3neseInk Paintin~

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.O8327L 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

CONTENTS"

- himI Olum

INTRODUCTION

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Some tlme ~'O. 1decided thai J"~.mted to write a bookabout j apa-nese ink painting. also knooi\-" as,.umf-f. In the beginning. I thought I..-ouJd fi", d,,~lop my own 51)i taut)"as antidotes to the alienationso prevalent in our ttchnological se-d 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

g it

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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 differences between this style and\\~stcm paindng. The gOliof clas-steal 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 three-dimcrislonal 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 IIpainter wants to coD\"t)". It is an at-tempt 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 stmpllc-it}' combined '\lith a distinct em-phasis on intuitive ~xpres!ion. Asenseof harmon)'. so t)l' ical in -j ap-anese 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 Influ-enced by Zen Buddhism, uses onlyblack ink. Hcwever , according toOriental undemand ing. black Ink Isnot simply black. It has IIWl)" dif-ferent 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 appear-ance of color. The tones also S(J"'e15 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 raeliante: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\11yInDuenced 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 InfOnothingncss. 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>

"'P ,.ssIoll than oth

more difficult to handle. Therefore,1 recommend that begin ncrs UR astlfferbrush. Althoughnunl' differ-ent 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. be-cause 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' orgrov.'lh. Use it tocreate the HnesWt wtll becomethe whole leaf, Continue to pun the

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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 soft

CUl'\~ ~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. Cress-Ing 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 yourelbow

on the table and. instead. let yourarm and brush tnO'o"e as one. 50that roowere able to draw strong.n""ingline.1-\\~re you able to create suflktent

shadings that achieve d the neces-5.1')' three-dimensionaleffecttoallow the Ilcwersto breathe freelyin the white space?

-Does the alternatingpressure )'OUU5

P AINTI NG T ECHNIQUU

The Third Experiment :Bamboo

bmlboo sdckis often comparedbfe. Each segmentoCthe:weedy

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

e that is the hue for the nextr segmcn'. In J. panese. the~ "nodule" ls ",-rtuenb)' using

51gn for 'moderation.' Modera-l.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~

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with the p3p

n. MoonTo paint bamboo I.., 'es , apply thesame technique youusedin paint-ing the bamboostemsandbranches, a proc'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.

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The Fourth Experiment :ThePlum-Tree BranchPlum-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. break-ing 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 dif-ferenr dlrecrtons. Jeel the:tmsion inthe:bristles uf )'OW' brush 1U )' OUtr'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 be-come 1\;ltTO\\'cr ss It "grows ."

TwigsTherip of rbe bl\lSh.comalning 1

P AINTI NG TECUN1Q UF.S 31

Supsfor pclinring plwm-rr bra-"' JwGndblcu

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\\~llIow willi ,,,r;un

J APAN !!loE I NK PA INT ING

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PirteTruBranches of ptne U'S bevea cern -plerely dif'~rcnt cb:anc(tr duntheseof plum Itt es. !hq ' p"" 1dUIld.dby du: softUgh,of spring, 5

60 JAPANESE IS K PAINT ING

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A taUend ttsshort.Ululqll iI andtnWpmnt,_srt}I

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 ofJa-pan_Singularly bu urlfu\, Moont fuj iIs the hl8b

Till """&< of colored paints. E,'

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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 ccn-Wnet$.Toc:b.)', Western wa eercclcr pameJ.caruaf. palnts or Chine:stwarercc-lor paints areused. HO'O\t\~r. tht) .arcnot war erprecl. Thisoften CR ales a problem ,,-henusingthewe r-lappingmethodor 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

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 DOtonl}'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

80 J APANE SE IN K PA1~TING

Mount RuIrlhomIn lite AUgau1~'OU want to assignmajor empbe-sis 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

lfound It fasclnadngto observehow fewsuokts of blue instantl)turnedthe,,1lJtt. empty spacesinl Osnow.LaIteA",rnenceill thts picture of LakeAmmersee. 1U5kc. 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.

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PRACTICEMOTIFSWhatfoUO\\'"arcexamplesora JewpopularlllOlils. I MY

Pt ACTI C! MOT IfS 83

CGtSomebodypointedOUt to me dwcatsarea frequentmotifIn J.p'.nese pain tings. Might the re...,., bethat th

fI

Bo4tThemost beautlfulpan of ' hispaintingis the whitespace. It ap-pun to beInfinite. The lightat thebdg}\(orthe summerseasenis 50brigh~ I' ol!en a g1lmp5

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

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" ink," and san-sui means "land-scepe.' in a general sense ; in thtnarrower sense, it means "mountainand.water.' Hatsubob is a Itch-nique 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 pa-per has dried. you add other .1.-menta. such II mountains . birds .and trees. letting the ink usedforthem blend in naturally.

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F4rcwc1l(pafnted0" ShUd-shtOil: G goJd-colomlbad

farewdl (on Shlk!sh! papa )This is a combinationorc1lS5icaland modem mot1fs. Many paindngsdone duringthe slxttenth and !CV -entr:enmcenturiesusedpapa cov-ered with gold le. l

AFINISHEDPAINTING

MOUNTING1am sure you havebeen dtsap-pointed whena finishedPlctu.rtlooked differentafterthe inkdrted.1you workedwith a lot of water.W paper, DO doubt, became"'IV)'.Thatis one of the cha.ractcrtsdCSorpaper. It gets mort or less unC\'t.11when 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 Iifd... . In otherwords, it does not look as nice as itdidwhen it "..as weeMuch can 1>

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), Ioo5and eleanllIble.

2. Spray !he bad< oCthe pointingIigIulywUh...... t rom!be. pray bottlt. B

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 lilttha t he "'115 about to choose myname, because this is the equh'alcntof a cutificatt bestowed only afterthe conclusion of a long apprentice-ship. It means tha t one ha5success-fullycompleted 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 In-stitutions 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 Ja-pan 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 har-mort)' within lite palndng. V.ry spe-cific characters. SCK&1led seallet-ters. are carved intOthe' surfa~ ofcOt1\"e:ntional sals .

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

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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 back-ground(n'P O\" ) lor oRiehl and in-stitutionaluse and red lerrers on "'hite ba

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

Wh

IN CONCLUSION efrom hI\-enot broughtgood re-sule. j apanese culturehas a _ tolotgh'O. 1}'OUmeant well and trled)'OUtbest,at the \"Cry least good"ill and the effortSexpended re-maIn.In conclusion,I ,,'Ouldlike to thankan thosewho tOl

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 paint-ItJ&.

- llu v.'Orlcedwith dlfl

-A=poIb. )7aocllmcdboot.71anthwtum...,~'9_ Hbomboo.e,12.27-29 . 70buies ol lJUtll-t. 8-2 1bUd one!a.....po!nlinl- ),bltd an a branch.3+. J'biond6IJloc.19-21.... 8)CIWoaeInk po!ndnp. 56

aDdJ' pIJ2at 0QtS., difWmces..65. 17CIWoae....., Alb bnah. IIchf)"Mntbc Dl.ltrl.. 5]douds.71. 87color. 77-8 1ccachmoa.9icomctiaal., 21. ..,COUOQrap. 12COiIo'S. 82q_ 8.DlUldttiCl'lJ. 7iEgp/

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