This is the second exercise from the book, “Japanese Ink Painting: The Art of Sumi-e” by Naomi Okamoto. Clearly, the Pentel Pocket Brush pen is not at all the right pen for Sumi-e so I thought I would also try the orchid exercise with the Akashiya Sai pens. I have it in my head ot use the various palettes during  the corresponding  season. Someday I will try Sumi-e in the traditional way but I am far too lazy to grind my own ink and blah blah blah. But, indeed, there is a reason for the ritual because it makes a huge difference in the final product. For now, I’ll try th exercises with the tools I currently have.

This passage from the book for this exercise amused  me:

“Many of the old masterpieces depicting orchids were painted by women. These graceful paintings are expressions of their hidden emotions. Behind the restrained gentle forms of the orchid, women were hiding their pride and their passion. In the old days, people believed that the ink women used released the fragrance of the orchid and that the ink stone itself was like and orchid field.”