Asian Inktober - Calligraphy Studio print

#asianinktober #inktober #kiyonaga #calligraphy  #japaneseprint

ASIAN INKTOBER 

To finish off Asian Inktober here's a Kiyonaga Print shwing a famous child calligrapher and also showing several calligraphy styles and a good view of an actual studio and its layout and equipment.
Note also the mastery of ink and tonal gradient. I often notice Kiyonaga prints because of his careful use of blacks and grays ranging from solid areas of black to subtle gray patterns contrasting with colors. He tends to limit his colors but note how in this print lighter colors in the background suggest depth and also the use of perspective without shadows!

Beautiful Brushes another Asian Inktober Image Medley

BEAUTIFUL BRUSHES #asianinktober #inktober #brushes

Let us enjoy a moment to contemplate the beauty of brushes

The Four Treasures of the Studio are the Inkstone the Inkstick the Brush often sold in boxed sets and not shown above Xuan paper

While I see claims a master needs only one brush most painters who use Asian style brushes for watercolors or calligraphy or what other purpose  have a variety of sizes. Ceramicists often prefer them for applying glazes and slips.

Inkstones

#inkstones

Once upon a time long ago Yan - inkstones were called something like either #ngien or #nge/an which became Yan 4 in Modern Chinese and in other dialects jin gian ngieng ngan jan

SinoViet has nghien and SinoJapanese has Ken or Gen but prefers the native term SUZURI

This is an unusually ornate deluxe example !

They come in a variety of forms and that deeper area at one end is to push the ink into as you grind hard the inkstick on the inkstone after applying water to the stone.

This is actually the blade guard of a samurai sword but its modelled on an inkstone and note the broken inkstick on one corner! 

Asian Inktober - The Beauty of Inksticks

#asianinktober #inksticks

While you can get Asain Ink in Bottle Purists like to grind down their own ink.

I must confess I have a few inksticks I have collected and never used cos the patterns are just so pretty!

Here's a medley of inkstick imagery to enjoy

Asian Inktober - More Ink and Brush

#asianinktober #inktober #mifei

The Brush is as Mighty as the Pen especially in Asian Art!

Simple works like this piece by Mi Fei had a great influence on later "scholar" style painters in China and Japan such as this Japanese work below.

and this Kano folding screen altho painted on gold and having accents of green shows the strong influence of #p'omo and #suibokuga 

ASIAN INKTOBER - Hasegawa's Pines

#hasegawa #inktober2018

Ink is used with brushes too.

There is a technique of brushing called P'o Mo in Chinese and Haboku in Japanese

"splashed ink" used in suibokuga, sumi-e, and zenga style monochrome paintings.

One of the finest examples of this is HASEGAWA TOOHAKU 's PINES

A Painting on a Byoobu a folding screen.

You can see and download the whole set of screens from Wikipedia but its a massive file so here's just part of it.

Elegantly simple and restrained it works because the painter has observed real pines in a mist and like many geniuses, Eastern or Western, while traditionally trained, experimented with and studied other techniques and schools.

Hasegawa came or was adopted into a family of dyers and showing talent as a painter was sent to Kyoto for further studies with the Kano school. He also studied the suiboku works of SESSHU.

Take a look at both artists!

Asian Inktober - INK

Its #Inktober and what would East Asian paintng and calligraphy without #INK
So as an educational tie-in the a #technozi on INK

Copyright J. Vaux 2018
You can copy and share for educational purposes though

Asian Inktober Two - A medley for Inspiration

#inktober #ink

ASIAN INKTOBER TWO

Let us consider the beauty of plain ink on white paper with this medley

ENSO A #Zenga #calligrapghy exercise 

remember this was originally black on white 

yes it is a japanese print but modelled on a brush painting 

eight basic strokes used by both calligraphers and painters 

Asian Inktober One

ANNOUNCEMENT 

For INKTOBER 2018 I'm be posting about Asian Ink painting 

and related topics like Inksticks and Inkstones

The Dancer

THE DANCER

I'm finishing the kimono clothing series with one particularly glorious print.

Yes its another #chikanobu 

Just enjoy it 

I feel commentary would only mar its splendour 

As its #inktober my next series throughout october will be about INK inkstones inkstones and other related topics.