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Sumi / Sumi-e:
Unique Medium & Technique
One of the pages for artist Ray Bliss Rich
Sumi: A unique medium
All of my painting is done with sumi: an ink that I must grind from a solid stick immediately before painting.
This is done by putting a puddle of water on a stone (called a suzuri) and rubbing the ink stick against the stone
in the puddle. It does not require much pressure, but the longer I grind the ink the darker the shade of whatever
color I am using.
The completion of larger pieces may require regrinding ink to complete the one piece. Even smaller multicolored
pieces require grinding each color just before application. The sumi applies with a look similar to watercolor,
but as soon as it hits the paper it is permanent! That's why I use sumi for my hand painted jewelry, so I can lacquer
over it.
Sumi-e: Simple Elegance
The object of sumi-e is to use very few brush strokes. Just enough to represent the subject, maybe a little
bit more to convey the mood of the subject. This economy of style has led to sumi-e often being referred to as
the haiku of painting, as its abbreviated form parallels that of the brief poem. The nature of sumi-e materials
and techniques does not allow reworking or correcting mistakes, so imperfect paintings are destroyed. This results
in a hidden effort behind the completed painting you get to see.
Sumi-e Materials
Sumi-e is traditionally done with the sumi ink discussed above, hand ground on a suzuri, applied to delicate
papers (often referred to as rice paper) with a bamboo handled brush. I use a variety of papers, including: kinwashi,
unryu, masa, chiri, barkless chiri, and ginwashi Japanese papers; as well as hand made papers done by Virginia
Sarsfield of Maine. I have a set of 18 colored sumi sticks and several suzuri stones. I believe the most important
element in executing sumi-e is the selection of the brush. It must have enough soft hairs to hold the ink and enough
stiff hairs to spring back to a point at the end of a brush stroke. My favorite is the Grumbacher 628 size 4 made
in China. It has an attractive mottled bamboo handle to add to its magnificent performance.
E-mailed questions answered via the same.
My snail mail is:
Ray Bliss Rich - P.O.Box 1167 - Hillsboro, NH 03244
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