Join Lauris Phillips for a morning workshop learning to paint a crane with sumi ink, based on Japanese Master Hokusai’s technique of painting cranes. Well known for his Great Wave, Hokusai was a famous teacher in his day and made many “how to” manuals on drawing with a brush, including how to paint a crane with one stroke of sumi ink.
The art of Sumi-e, or ink painting, is simple, relaxing and elegant. In this workshop we will grind our own sumi ink in the traditional way and learn to paint a crane with a bamboo-handled brush on “rice” paper. We will start by painting from Hokusai’s instructional paintings and move into painting from crane photos in the same style.
Lauris Phillips has been painting birds, botany and landscapes with sumi for 20 years. Her work is grounded in both Zen practice and a passion for the natural world. As a wildlife refuge volunteer, she has worked with a population of nesting cranes in northeast California since 2016.
Students 14 and above with all levels of experience are welcome.
What to Bring
All materials will be supplied by the instructor.
Wear clothing or a smock you don’t mind getting permanent ink on.
Bring a snack and water.
Lauris will supply:
hand-outs of Master Hokusai’s cranes
photos of cranes in various postures
sumi (ink)
suzuri (grinding stones for the ink)
bamboo-handled brushes
paper
newsprint
ink saucers
rags
water containers
buckets for clean-up