Artist's Statement - James Malone
My intention as a Sumi-e painter is to harness aesthetic essences of nature and release them into creative compositions. In Japanese, "Sumi" means ink, the letter "e" means picture. The two earliest surviving sumi-e paintings date back to the 3rd century B.C. They are on silk fragments and were found in tombs in the Hunan Provinve.
The style I use was brought from the southern Chinese school to northern Japan, by Japanese Zen monks in the 13th century. The particular style I paint in is called the "Mokkotsu",or "boneless" style, the painting strokes are made without using outlines.
I love sumi-e painting because it teaches me to look more closely at nature, always in search of subjects and landscapes I feel should be recorded. When I paint I become humble and see freshly, as if I were a child again. Old scenes become new and inspiring as I learn to deliberately change my perspective.
Using the brushes in an eastern style and letting go of western ideas of composition, requires specialized definition, directional light, and a single view-point. Expertise is gained gradually by practising the various strokes again and again until they not only look right but feel right. The strokes express what we've come to understand as an essence of the subject we paint.
I love sumi-e painting because it teaches me to look more closely at nature, always in search of subjects and landscapes I feel should be recorded. When I paint I become humble and see freshly, as if I were a child again. Old scenes become new and inspiring as I learn to deliberately change my perspective.
Using the brushes in an eastern style and letting go of western ideas of composition, requires specialized definition, directional light, and a single view-point. Expertise is gained gradually by practising the various strokes again and again until they not only look right but feel right. The strokes express what we've come to understand as an essence of the subject we paint.
Sumi-e painting is a humbling experience and yet deeply satisfying, and I realize I am part of a trans-cultural art form stretching from 300 B.C. into today's contemporary art world.