The beauty of sumi-e is paradoxical reflects the arts spiritual basis in Zen Buddhism. Designed for Western artist who is attracted to ink-painting, this book is the product of the author's study with her teacher, Ukai Uchiyama, master calligraphist and artist.

The beauty of sumi-e is paradoxical - ancient but modern, simple but complex, bold but subdued - no doubt reflecting the arts spiritual basis in Zen Buddhism. At the same time sumi-e is firmly rooted in the natural world, its various techniques serving as the painter's language for describing the wonders of nature. Neither techniques nor tools are new. Buddhist priests brought the ink stick and the bamboo-handled brush to Japan from China in the sixth century. The Japanese soon became adept in their use, and over the past fourteen centuries have developed a rich heritage of ink-painting.Today, the artistry of sumi-e can be admired in books, reproductions, and museums, but the techniques of the art, passed from generation to generation by personal instruction and apprenticeship, have been much less accessible. As a result, little information has been available to the inquisitive Western artist attracted to ink-painting. The book, designed to help remedy that deficiency, is the product of the author's study with her teacher, Ukai Uchiyama, master calligraphist and artist.