INk Masters Hasegawa - Pine and Bamboo

 #ink #inktober #japanesepainting #pines #hasegawa 

This time we're looking at a Japanese painting - Pine and Bamboo by Hasegawa Tohaku.

The image belwo is 2 sections of a larger work 

This is a very "formal" work featuring Pine and Bamboo.

Bamboo is particularly difficult to paint as it requires advanced brush skills whether you are using an outline or "boneless" technique or combining both. Hasegawa could have used color and there are some beautiful paintings using color by later Rimpa and Nihonga painters but has stayed with a monochrome "palette" of black creating depth without perspective by using tones and space with a composition seeming random but well proportioned use of the spaces between bamboo trunks contrasting with low curves suggesting the ground and hinting at slopes. 

Finally the contrasting but closely adjacent pine and bamboo branches above draw our eye right to left from light grays to deeper darker tones. 

What can we learn from this about tones and layout ?

Or just enjoy the ink ! 

Follow me for more in my INktober Ink Masters series

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!