My newest foray into uncharted territory is Sumi painting. I have been working on Zen Calligraphy for a while (although, as with all art; it will take a lifetime to master the technique.), which utilizes a method wherein the artist becomes a tool of the energy which flows through him. The Japanese Zen masters who developed the style use Kanji, but like Kanji itself, the technique really started in China with Taoist Masters who used the same idea to communicate through painting known as Sumi. Both schools use Sumi brushes and ink. In my calligraphy, I apply the technique to Sanskrit, and now I have been trying my hand at Sumi painting too. I’m trying various media and papers. Traditionally ink is used and so I am using that, however; the technique is a mindset, and is not bound to certain materials except through tradition.
