Tools of Sumi-e
Sumi-e artists need a variety of tools in order to paint. The three photos below show what they are. The most important are called the four treasures (bunboshiho). The term comes from the Chinese who often refer to them as the four treasures of the scholar’s studio. They are fude (brushes), suzuri (ink grinding stone), sumi (ink), and washi (rice paper).
Photo 1: See description below.
From left to right, this first picture shows two brushes, a suzuri, an ink stick, and a bottle of liquid ink. The ruler is there just to show the scale.
I recommend beginners start with two brushes. Note that they are different sizes. Both of the ones shown are relatively inexpensive. Much better (and more expensive) brushes are available, but for beginners, simple ones like these are fine. They have bamboo handles and animal hair bristles. These are not the same as water color brushes. Some water color brushes may work okay, but brushes with animal hair bristles that come to a point are more suitable for the full range of strokes needed in Japanese brush painting.
It is hard to see in the photo, but the brushes shown are new brushes and still have protective plastic caps. The caps should be thrown away. The bristles of new brushes are held together with paste that has to be removed before the brushes can be used. Soak them in water until all of the paste can be rinsed away. Then let the brushes air dry. Don’t worry if bristles of the air-dried brushes don’t look as pointy as new ones. The points will return when the bristles are wet again. Brushes should also be thoroughly rinsed clean after each use and again allowed to air dry to prevent mold from forming.
The large black rectangular object is a suzuri, an ink grinding stone. I recommend that solid sumi (black) ink like the smaller black object in the photo be used. A small amount of water is applied to the surface of the suzuri with an eyedropper. Then the ink stick is rubbed on the watery surface to make liquid ink. The suzuri has a well on one end for the ink to collect. The amount of ink made depends on the amount of painting you want to do. After painting is finished, any leftover ink should be discarded, and the suzuri and ink stick should be wiped dry. Never let a wet or damp ink stick rest unattended on the suzuri. One of the components of the ink stick is glue that can harden like a rock. Getting the ink stick free of the suzuri again could damage it. That glue also makes the ink indelible, so it is a good idea to wear an apron or something similar to protect clothing.
Ink also comes in liquid form like the bottle shown in the photo. There is nothing wrong with using liquid ink, though it is harder to dilute it properly to get shades of gray than with an ink stick. My preference for using the solid ink stick is because the time occupied by grinding the ink can be used to contemplate what you want to paint. Concentration is an extremely important component of successful sumi-e paintings.
Photo 2: See description below.
The object with the colorful rectangles in this photo is a small 12-color ink set. I emphasize starting to learn to paint with black sumi ink, but color is fine, too. You don’t need to grind these colored inks to use them. Just rub a moist brush on the surface to pick up the color you want. Though sometimes described as water colors, they are not the same as regular water colors and shouldn’t be used like them.
The other two objects in the photo are different sized pads of washi or rice paper. There are 48 or 50 sheets of paper in each pad. Though washi means rice paper, there is no rice in it. That is just a naming convention. These kinds of papers are specialized for use with ink. Each sheet has a rough side and a smooth side. You can easily tell which is which by rubbing a sheet between two fingers. Most of time, painting is done on the smooth side, but the rough side can be used, too. It all depends on what sort of effect an artist wants to achieve.
Washi comes in many different sizes and types. You can buy higher quality and larger sizes of paper by the sheet. Many of those are handmade. Washi also comes in rolls that are from 30 to 60 feet in length and from 12 to 18 inches wide. Artists using rolls cut off whatever length is desired.
The paper pads in the photo are 9” x 12” and 12” x 18” respectively. These are the most common paper sizes used by students.
Photo 3: See description below.
This photo shows the other paraphernalia needed by sumi-e artists. Note that this photo has a black background instead of a white one. The colors come from felt pads. When painting, a felt pad is placed on the artist’s work surface, and the sheet of paper you will paint on is placed on top of that. Because of the felt, the paper yields slightly when a brush moves across the surface. This improves the quality of the stroke. It is a matter of personal preference whether white or black felt is used. My preference is for white felt. The down side is that over time, white felt tends to become stained with ink. That doesn’t hurt the paintings, however.
The two objects at the top left and center of the photo are water containers. You only need one, but sometimes having more than one can be handy. There is nothing special about a water container. The one in the top center is an old tofu container. At the right side of the photo is a roll of paper towels. Most of the time, you will only need one or two sheets. Just left of the paper towel roll is an old cloth rag for wiping up. The other two white objects are pallets for mixing ink. Again, anything will do, but something colored white is best. A pallet made of ceramics is easier to clean. One pallet is necessary, but having two is often useful. The long steel bar at the bottom of the photo and the black rock with the flowers painted on it are paper weights, handy for helping keep paper in place while you are painting. Anything that pleases you and doesn’t get in the way will do. The dark object between the two is an eye dropper.
That is pretty much it. You can get fancy with other things. More than one size brush is often used for painting, so a brush rest for the brushes not being used can be handy. There are hanging racks for suspending brushes in the air while drying. An old mason jar with brushes placed so that the bristles point upward does just as good a job. More practical is a fudemaki. Often made of thin bamboo reeds tied together. Brushes can be rolled up in a fudemaki for storage or transportation. Air can get to the bristles, and the fudemaki helps protect them from accidents.
How to get what you need.
Many conventional art supply stores don’t carry the four treasures. They can be purchased online, but you have to be careful what you get. Brushes, ink stick, and suzuri are often packaged together, but the components of those sets tend to be too small to be useful for painting purposes.
For shopping in the San Diego area, try:
Blick Art Materials at 1844 India St., San Diego CA 92101
https://www.dickblick.com/stores/california/san-diego/
Artist & Craftsman Supply at 3804 Fourth Avenue, San Diego, California, 92103
Elite Bookstore at 7323 Convoy Ct., B105, San Diego, CA 92111 (no web site)
(This is a small Chinese (mostly) book, magazine, and video store in the back of the 99 Ranch Market complex. They do carry painting supplies.)
I have a wide range of tools and supplies that I get directly from importers. If you are interested, e-mail me at ttsandin@att.net.
Brushes: I recommend Yasutomo brand brushes, but avoid their CC line. My preference is for their CA line of brushes. I recommend two sizes for beginners, CA1 and CA3. If they can’t be found, then try Yasutomo’s SW4 and SW6.
Paper: Yasutomo paper pads are recommended; 6H for 9x12” pads and 6JM for 12x18” pads. Yasutomo product pads 6A or 6E are not suitable for painting.