Sumi-e Painting

Bamboo

Artists new to sumi-e begin by studying bamboo, a subject that will continue to challenge and inspire them decades later. Some artists even spend their whole careers painting nothing but bamboo in black ink. A painting of just a few leaves and a stem can evoke a sense of nature and may be used to convey your emotions.

It may be tempting to go back over a stroke to improve it—but try to resist this urge! You might make your stroke more accurate, but the energy of the original stroke will be lost.

To understand how to paint the strokes ...