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
"Defining wabi sabi
in physical terms is like explaining the taste of a piece of
chocolate by its shape and color." ~ by Drs. Wong
and Hirano "Learning to see The Invisible" Source: Touching Stone Gallery
What is wabi sabi? Ask a Japanese
this question and there will likely be a long silence. Pose
the same question to an American, however, the answer will
often be quick and sure: "It’s beauty of things imperfect!"
Why do the Japanese struggle for an answer to the meaning of
wabi sabi that seems to come easily to Westerners? Could
they be searching for a different answer altogether? - Touchstone Gallery
The term wabi sabi is derived from two characters shared by
Japanese and Chinese. Originally, wabi
侘 means ‘despondence’, and sabi 寂 means ‘loneliness' or
'solitude'. These are words for feelings, not for physical
appearance of objects. it is a
profound aesthetic consciousness that transcends appearance.
It can be felt but rarely verbalized, much less defined.
Many of my readers and collectors of my sumi-e art work, know that I experienced a massive stroke. I learned many things from this experience. One of the most important things I learned is this: I
have found that it is important to
love ourselves again, to be accepting and
tolerant, and be open to what our lives are now. To help me with this
concept, I
learned about wabi-sabi, the art of
imperfection. Wabi-sabi is the Japanese tradition of celebrating the
beauty in what's
flawed or worn. It offers an inspiring way to
look at your whole life. To discover wabi-sabi is to see the singular
beauty
in something that may first look decrepit and
ugly. Bringing wabi-sabi into your life requires a mind quiet enough to
appreciate
muted beauty, find courage not to fear, and a
willingness to accept things the way they are. Wabi-sabi depends on the
ability
to slow down, to shift the balance from doing
to being, to appreciating rather than perfecting. Wabi-sabi can be
adopted as
a way of seeing and being in the world.
Commemorative 'Wabi Sabi' Seal
This is my personal 'Wabi Sabi' seal/chop carved especially for me by Henry Li of Blue Heron Arts. Henry carved this mood seal at my request. It will be used on the special life occasion of the 30th Anniversary of my stroke, which will be on October 20, 2013. I will be painting a commemorative sumi-e on that day to honor my stroke and will seal the painting with this very special chop.
This Tianhuang soapstone is from Changhua, Zhejiang, China.
* It is cut into a beautiful rectangular shape with natural skin and edge on
one side. *Tian means
"paddy field" and Huang
means yellow. In restrictive sense, "Tianhuang" refers to a
kind of yellow-colored soapstone unearthed from rice paddy in Shoushan, which
is regarded as the most valuable of all seal stones in China. However, this Tianhuang soapstone of
mine is NOT from Shoushan, but from Changhua, Zhejiang province, which is known
as "Changhua Tianhuang" or "Changhua Yellow".
The stone that I chose for this special carving is
very wabi sabi in its own right. It is its own beauty in imperfection just like
me. And, very auspicious, indeed!
Below is a video of Henry carving my 'Wabi Sabi' seal. Enjoy!
Ever painted with tea? Ever created a back wash with tea?
Doing a wash or painting with tea is great fun and can produce very interesting results. The color is usually delicate and the intensity depends on if you use the tea alone or mix it with ink or watercolor. How do you use tea in painting you might ask. This type of painting is best when doing sumi-e on rice paper but it can also be used on watercolor paper for an antique effect.
First thing is to brew some very strong black tea. I usually put three to four bags of black tea in a small cup and fill the cup with boiling water just enough to soak the bags - about 1/4 full. I let this sit until it is cool. Then I take out the tea bags and squeeze them into the cup letting the rest of the water drip into the cup. This produces a strong brew.
Below: This is a sumi-e painting where I used a back wash of tea. This painting is done on mulberry paper which is a kind of rice paper made from the pulp of the mulberry tree. It is a very thin paper (unlike watercolor paper) but it is strong in wet applications. The painting was turned over and a wash of tea was applied to the back of the painting using a 1" hake brush in the rocky area of the landscape. The wash then bleeds and shows through to the front. A back wash tends to make colors used in the painting more intense on the front and also provides a delicate background color.
Sky High - Let the Birds Fly
by Casey Shannon
This is the 1" Lacquered Handle Hake Brush used for the back wash.
The "flying whites" (term in brush painting meaning white spaces in a single brush stroke) were created with this specialty combination brush of sheep and mountain horse hair. With this brush you get a combination of soft and stiff hair. I really like using this brush for the quality of the texture I can get using it like you can see in the rock formations seen in the above painting. This is one of my favorite brushes to paint with for 'happy' results.
This specialty brush is available from Henry Li at:
Below: This painting has rolling hills painted directly on the front surface of the mulberry paper with the tea and the tip of the brush was dipped in ink.. The distant mountains are painted with just straight tea for a more delicate and distant effect.
Carmel Valley - La Mesa
by Casey Shannon
There are many ways to use tea in painting. These suggestions are only two of the ways. Happy painting!
