I had never painted on Ma (Hemp) paper before I painted this sumi-e. I liked this paper for painting my landscape. This paper is made of wild hemp fibers. It is thin with an elegant natural off white finish. It has fibers showing through the paper which create interest yet the paper is smooth. It is very strong which allows for wet on wet style painting. It is very durable for washes.
Ma Paper is considered a semi-sized paper.. This paper, with it's longer fibers, gives artists
the ability to paint wet-on-wet with confidence. A common use for this paper is
painting landscapes with washes, clouds, mists and waterfalls. Ma is a favorite of landscape painters because of its ability to handle
repetitive washes and shading without pilling or tearing. You can also use thick, intense color on this paper to achieve lively and vivid results.
I got my Ma Paper from Henry at Blue Heron Arts. Henry carries two kinds of Ma Paper. Single and double. Single is very thin yet super strong. Double is thick which can be used for painting or for printing. I have not painted on the double thickness yet but will try it soon.
You can see more of my recent work using different papers on my website.
Casey Shannon
Director of North America Branch ~ ICCPS
International Chinese Calligraphy and Ink Painting Sociey
This is my First Brush of 2016. There is a lovely tradition in Japan that on the 2nd of January in the New Year everyone makes their First Brush. It can be sumi-e (painting) or Shodo (calligraphy). Every year I do the same. I keep this tradition here in the United States. Doing so makes me feel as a participant in a greater Sumi whole. I feel the spirit and energy of all the other Sumi artists. We paint together. We First Brush!
Director of North America Branch ~ ICCPS International Chinese Calligraphy and Ink Painting Sociey
I
Celebrated 30 Years of Wabi Sabi on October 20, 2013
Last month I told you about the special commemorative painting I
would paint celebrating the 30th anniversary of my special life event - stroke.
Here it is!
Wabi
Sabi - Rising Up
Sumi-e
15 x 19 - Mulberry Paper
Sumi (ink), Tea, and Watercolor
Currently Unmounted
One friend of mine when she saw my efforts from this special day called my
painting 'the landscape of my life'. I think she was correct, don't you? Personal Commemorative
'Wabi Sabi' Seal
I painted this commemorative sumi-e on that day to honor my
stroke and sealed the painting with this very special artist chop.
I painted this day because I still can!
( Prints of this sumi-e will be available soon)
I call Fu Baoshi the 'painter of mist'. When you look at his landscape paintings, you are drawn into the scene by the mist and feel as if you could almost touch and feel it with your hands and not just view the mist with your eyes..
Fu Baoshi (傅抱石,
1904-1965) was a Chinese painter from Xinyu (新余), Jiangxi Province.
Credited with revolutionizing Chinese ink painting, Fu is perhaps the
most original figure painter and landscapist of China's modern period,
and one of the most important Chinese artists of the 20th century.
Portrait of Fu Baoshi in 1947
Fu Baoshi lived in a turbulent time in China and was influenced by the political climate of his country.
In this painting, the communist influence in his country can be seen by the use of the deep red sun floating above the landscape mists. Fu Baoshi never left China during the revolution as some of his contemporaries did at the time. (i.e., Chang Dia-chein - the Picasso of China and my personal favorite Chinese artist. See my blog Picasso of China for more information.)
He was eight years old in 1912 when China's last imperial dynasty was overthrown and the Chinese Republic was established. He subsequently witnessed the divisive warlord era and Communist rebellion of the 1920s, the Japanese invasion and occupation of eastern China from 1937 to 1945, and the Communist Revolution and establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949. Over the last fifteen years of his life, his art reflected China's political transformation under Mao Zedong. Throughout his career, however, Fu remained one of China's great individualist masters.
Private Seal of Fu Baoshi
Fu Baoshi was considered to be mainly self-taught. One of the first things he mastered was seal carving and became a renowned seal carver of his time.
Seal meaning "A work with which Fu Baoshi is satisfied'.
Fu Baoshi went to
Japan to study the History of Oriental Art in the
Tokyo School of Fine Arts. After returning to China in 1935, Fu taught
in the Art Department of Central University (now Nanjing University).
Trained in both China and Japan at a time
when arts education stressed the need for the modernization of
indigenous traditions through the study of Western methods, Fu Baoshi
developed a new style incorporating foreign styles and techniques, and
began creating boldly individualistic and strongly nationalistic work.
Noting that Chinese painting had evolved toward too great a dependency
on monochromatic, calligraphic brushwork, Fu sought to revive earlier
traditions of realistic description that made greater use of color and
ink wash. His works of landscape painting employed skillful use of dots
and inking methods, creating a new technique encompassing many varieties
within traditional rules. He also stressed the need for an artist to be
emotionally and physically present in his art. To achieve this end, Fu
Baoshi often painted while inebriated. (Some Asian art experts believe he actually drank himself to death.) He also sought spontaneity
through a spattered-ink method of painting—a kind of "action art" that
parallels the working methods of some of the Abstract Expressionists.
Fu Baoshi had
strong feelings towards the land of China. During his travel to many
places, he recorded the splendors of the rivers and mountains, drawing
inspiration from nature and becoming the representative landscape
painter of his time.
Sources: Metropolitan Museum of Art ~ Chinese Art in an age of Revolution China Online Museum Personal Research
Below is a video of a visit to the Fu Baoshi Memorial Museum in China by my artist friends Henry Li and Santo Previteraka in December 2012.
