Japanese sumi-e painting

Sumi-e painting is an art that originated in China during the Song Dynasty. In the XIV century, it penetrates into Japan. What kind of art this is can be understood from the name itself: the word sumi-e is a combination of two Japanese words, which in translation mean “ink” (sumi) and “painting” (e). That is, sumi-e is a type of monochrome painting similar to watercolor. The difference between sumi-e painting is that it contains only black, as well as a wide range of gray colors of ink dissolved in water. All this seems to be only a matter of technique, but the philosophical meaning is very important.

After Buddhist monks brought sumi-e painting to Japan, it began to spread rapidly throughout Asia. Having absorbed the mystical spirit of this religion, sumi-e embodied its main motives in an artistic form. Simple black lines drawn on white paper can represent a complex pattern, just as in Zen a few spoken words can be the result of many hours of meditation. The task of the artist does not include a photographically accurate reproduction of reality, he discards everything that does not interest him. He depicts nature as it is drawn in his imagination, embodies its very essence. Unlike other sites, templates are not presented here, because the artist keeps any images in memory as he saw them.

Sumi-e hardly requires any prior knowledge. We will only briefly talk about the necessary tools and how to prepare it for work, and then we will draw your attention to how and why certain strokes are applied in a particular exercise.

In order to draw sumi-e, the artist must prepare all the necessary supplies and arrange them in front of him so that they are at hand: paints for drawing (it is advisable to try them out first) and brushes. First you need to straighten up and focus on a white sheet of paper. Then try to relax and start thinking about the chosen topic until you mentally imagine a picture with a drawing and an image that you want to capture. It is at such a moment of maximum concentration that you take a brush, and the image from your consciousness will spontaneously flow onto the paper. Such naturalness and vitality of the fruit of your imagination is achieved with strokes that are applied in one breath, avoiding unnecessary details and shapes.

In other words, sumi-e aims to convey the synthesis of nature. To create a holistic single image, discarding everything unnecessary and presenting only the life and essence of things, is perhaps the first thing to remember for everyone who begins to practice sumi-e.