Naomi Okamoto was born near Tokyo, Japan in 1951 and is a Member of the Federal Association of Artists (BBK). She studied painting, calligraphy, aesthetics, history of art and literature in Tokyo and moved to Germany in 1976. Naomi has studied under famous Japanese and Chinese masters of ink painting and works in various techniques from both the West and the East. She has exhibited in Tokyo, Kyoto, Westerland/Sylt, Hamburg, Dortmund, Bonn, Cologne, Mannheim, Saarbrücken, Stuttgart, Munich and Münster, and she teaches numerous courses in Germany, ink painting in Germany and the USA, and also under the pseudonym of Emi Akamatsu.
Artist and educator Okamoto’s guide explores sumi-e, a type of
Japanese ink drawing done exclusively with brushes and ink washes
that combines calligraphic lines and blank space in subtle drawings
and paintings. In this quiet, restrained art form related to Zen
Buddhism, reality is conveyed through suggestion and simplification
rather than through detail or precision. Numbered, sequenced
drawings guide the reader’s hand in projects presented
step-by-step. Lots of written description accompanies these designs
for a gentle introduction to the technique. Materials, special
techniques, composition, and color are discussed. Subject matter
includes still life, landscapes, figures, flowers, and animals.
VERDICT Artistically inclined readers hoping to try something
different will find many possibilities in this volume.
*Library Journal USA*
August 2015 The Art of Sumi-e by artist Naomi Okamoto, describes
the traditional painting technique that uses only ink, white space
and simple brushstrokes. It aims to capture the essence of its
subject based on spiritual processes within the artist: simplifying
what is in front of you then using your won intuitive expression.
There's plenty of good advice on the materials and supports you
will need to get you started. The author then describes how to use
the ink and brush, showing clearly how to adjust the pressure to
make the marks you want, and inviting you to copy originals to
familiarise yourself with the techniques. Themed exercises follow,
including still life, landscapes and figures before moving on to
colour in Japanese ink painting, flowers animals and landscapes.
The book closes with ideas of motifs for cards and stationery plus
that all-important seal to personalise your work. The book makes an
ideal introduction to the art of Sumi-e with a systematic approach
and simple exercises and is well illustrated throughout.
*Leisure Painter, The*
July 2015 Sumi-E is what we generally regard as the classic
Japanese art of ink painting that uses a simple medium, the white
of the paper, and carefully crafted and placed brushstrokes to
create an image. The essence of it is just that, the essence of the
subject, which is usually a natural form. This is a complete guide
that includes advice on materials – particularly the specialised
brushes and papers – as well as instruction in the basics of
painting with ink, both black and colour. From here, a series of
exercises gets you practising with shapes – a fish with a single
stroke for instance. Naomi also includes the philosophical aspects
of Japanese painting, which is as much a state of mind as a
technical exercise. In the foregoing example, for instance, it is
she, not the imagined fish, that feels the touch of the water. It’s
a hard concept to convey, but she does it rather well. As your
skills and confidence (and you need to be confident to achieve the
single-stroke structure) develop, you’ll move on to flowers,
animals, landscapes and even figures. These last are perhaps the
most rewarding as they turn the whole idea of figurative work on
its head, with less becoming more and detail only barely hinted at.
This is as comprehensive a guide as you could wish to a fascinating
and absorbing art form.
*Artbookreview.net*
 |
Ask a Question About this Product More... |
|
