Ink · water · paper · breath

The sumi-e technique

Painting less so that more can be seen: sumi-e turns a very small set of materials into a practice of presence, rhythm, and space.

A brief history

The Japanese term sumi-e (墨絵) literally means “ink picture.” The practice is rooted in Chinese ink painting, where painting, poetry, and calligraphy share the same essential tool: the brush. Carried to Japan through contact with China and Zen Buddhist communities, it developed especially during the medieval period. Under the Ashikaga shoguns, from the fourteenth to the sixteenth century, monasteries, Chinese collections, and warrior patronage fostered a major Japanese tradition, exemplified by artists such as Sesshū Tōyō.

Monochrome ink painting, however, does not try to reproduce the world with photographic exactness. It condenses a subject’s movement, character, and vitality. During the Edo period, and later in modern and contemporary practice, artists continued this search through freer and sometimes abstract compositions while preserving the central roles of gesture and unpainted space.

A philosophy of gesture

Sumi-e lives in the productive tension between mastery and release. The brush touches the surface after careful preparation, but once the mark has entered the paper it can scarcely be corrected. Breathing, posture, speed, and pressure become visible. Rather than describing every detail, the artist suggests enough for the viewer to complete the image.

Empty space, or yohaku (余白), is therefore not forgotten space. It lets breath move through the composition, balances its masses, and gives the subject presence. This economy of means resonates with Zen influence: attention to the present, simplicity, impermanence, and an acceptance of irregularity. Sumi-e is both a technical discipline and a practice of listening.

文房四宝 · bunbō shihō

The studio’s Four Treasures

Paper — kami

Artists use absorbent Asian papers: Japanese washi, Chinese xuan, or sheets made for sumi-e. The commercial term “rice paper” is imprecise; these supports are often made from kōzo (paper mulberry), mitsumata, or bamboo fibres. Unsized paper allows ink to spread quickly, while lightly sized paper offers more control. Testing a sheet’s absorption before beginning the work is essential.

Brush — fude

A traditional brush combines a fine point, a belly that holds water, and great flexibility. Soft hair creates broad washes; firmer hair draws branches, veins, and contours. Mixed-hair brushes combine both qualities. The vertical or inclined hold, together with pressure and speed, lets a single brush move from the thinnest thread to a full, weighty mass.

Ink — sumi

Solid ink combines pine soot or soot from burned oils with animal glue. Ground with a few drops of water, it yields a dense, velvety black and then an entire scale of greys. Bottled ink is convenient and consistent for studies, but the inkstick gives more sensitive control of concentration. Restrained pigments may accompany black; in Catalina’s work, ultramarine becomes a contemporary counterpoint.

Inkstone — suzuri

Its surface is used to grind the inkstick, while its well holds the prepared ink. Grinding time regulates density and the amount of water controls transparency. This slow gesture is already part of the painting process: it gathers attention and prepares the rhythm of the brush.

Matières · gestes · couleurs

Materials in pictures

These examples help identify the traditional tools and several contemporary supports. Ink always reacts according to the fibre, sizing, brush flexibility, and concentration prepared on the inkstone.

落款 · rakkan

Signing with brush and seal

A classical signature, or rakkan, may bring together a calligraphed name, a date, a short poem or studio name, followed by one or more seal impressions. An intaglio seal leaves white characters on a red ground; a relief seal prints red characters. Vermilion paste, traditionally coloured with cinnabar, authenticates the work while adding a chromatic point of punctuation.

Its position is never automatic: beside the signature, in a corner, or as a counterweight to a dark mass, the seal is part of the composition and must respect the empty space. Its scale, shape, and red are chosen in relation to the work. Catalina’s seals express three complementary identities: the name “カタリナ,” written phonetically in katakana; a round seal associated with her artist name, mafcat; and the poem-seal “Stone warmed by the sun.” For the latter two, the exact seal-script forms should be confirmed before a kanji transcription is published.