Sumi-e Arum lily

I have prepared some plates for engraving and decided I wanted to try an arum lily. We have one in a pot in our bathroom so it's something I stare at whilst bathing which means I have ample time to study the shapes of the blooms and leaves.

Following my previous pattern of using Sumi to inform my carving, I woke up earlier than the kids so I could have a quiet space to paint. Sumi requires both practise and mindfulness which makes it difficult to do with any distractions. First I had a few practise pages, trying different tones of ink as well as different brush strokes.

I find I tend to start off a bit ham fisted and it takes a while to get the delicateness needed. The thing I most enjoy about Sumi-e is the grasping at the essence of the subject. Trying to portray not just the way it looks but something about it's being. For the person painting, this means both allowing the flow of the image as well as keeping tight control on technique. There is no erasing or altering of any brush stroke which holds true for carving as well, if you slip, you have to grind the entire image off and start again.

I was more pleased with these ones

Time to move on to scale drawing in pencil to be able to transfer this into engraving.