The Camellia flower

Our first Sumi-e Japanese ink painting lesson in 2024 was led by group leader Mrs. Kazuko Gehrig, with instruction provided by Mrs. Imako Umesaka at Japanese-German Center Berlin. Umesaka Sensei is a well-known calligrapher and professional Japanese Sumi-e painter. She studied Japanese literature and calligraphy at Daito Bunka University (Tokyo), and relocated to Hamburg in 1987, later settling and working in Berlin since 1995.

Our subject was the Camellia flower! Umesaka Sensei introduced the four essential tools: Brush, Ink, Paper and Inkstone. She began by demonstrating the use of an inkstick on an inkstone with water. This introduction to ink painting highlighted how appearances vary when the ink stick grinds differently in water and when the brush has varying amounts of ink and pressure during painting.

To add vibrancy to the painting, Umesaka Sensei dipped a brush into white watercolor, tapped it on the handle of another brush, splattering the paint randomly onto the camellia flowers and leaves, creating a natural snowflake effect. To infuse more than black and white into the painting, Umesaka Sensei mixed red and orange watercolors, lightly glancing over the camellia, then painting yellow pistils. A lifelike camellia blossomed before our eyes.

Ink paintings are special because they show feelings using lines and ink colors. When you look at them, you can imagine things in the artist's brush movements, the colors of ink, and the empty spaces, making a big and deep world in your mind.