The philosophy of suibokuga or sumi-e painting is based on harmony and contrast, expressed in a simple art form. An ancient art created with pen and ink and based on the same principle as calligraphy, suibokuga takes practice and patience to master. It is best for the beginner to learn calligraphy strokes before undertaking a painting; this way, the painter can concentrate on controlling the strokes before worrying about form and contrast. With practice, the artist can develop the skills to capture the harmony of a painting. Purchase supplies at an art store.
Take the ink stick and grind it on the ink stone in a circular figure-eight motion. Always go in the same direction. A creamy black ink will form. During the 25 minutes it takes the ink to form, the painter prepares mentally to paint.
Use grass paper for practice and later switch to xuan or rice paper. A 24-inch by 48-inch grass paper is a good size on which to practice.
Load the Suibokuga brush with ink. Do not twist the brush; slowly, move it back and forth until it is loaded. Use the ink stone to wipe any excess paint from the brush.
Use your first Suibokuga stroke to get a feel for the brush and an idea about what happens when you apply different pressures to the paper.
Pretend your brush is a pendulum and let it touch the paper on the downward swing. This will produce a leaf. Put your brush just above the paper. Swing as a pendulum in a circle, letting the brush barely touch the paper. Compare the two images.
Keep your arm off the table. With your arm in the air, gently move the brush, first away from you then toward you. Do it slowly and than do it rapidly to see the difference.
Wet your brush with lots of ink. Make a soft circle with the wet brush. Use your ink stone to remove most of the ink from the brush. Pretend there is a crooked tree on your paper and that you are going to draw a line up this tree. Draw the line and follow the curves with your brush. Compare the differences.
Practice these strokes and try different things just to see how the ink, brush and paper react. When you have practiced and learned control, you are ready to go to the next step in learning to paint Suibokuga.
