Zen of working with brush and pencil, the art of Sumi-e, and graphite drawing

Without Expectations

2012-02-11T16:51:00.000-08:00

In the West, most of us are born and raised with result oriented mentality. From childhood, we have been taught to work for the outcome, and we have been evaluated by adults with praise or displeasure. As we get older, the outcome gets judged, not only by others, but more severely by ourselves. We apply this mentality to everything we do, including our creativity. This approach to life gets challenged by eastern philosophies and arts.

The most important aspect of the Zen way of working is letting go of all expectations without caring about the outcome by seeing the subject matter as if it is being seen for the first time. The way to achieve that is to use techniques such as (breathing, grounding, and emptying the mind…) to bring oneself to the present moment. One evaluates the outcome, not by its likeliness to the subject matter, but by how connected one felt to the subject during the work. What’s interesting, is that the more one feels connected and is present during the process, the more one brings out the essence, the spirit of the subject matter, and thus a more successful result.

In my Oriental brush painting classes, I start the class with meditation and lead the students to get grounded, find their centre, the quiet, still place, (“Wu” Chinese, “Mu” Japanese) from where they connect to every part of their body without attachment or thought. I lead them to feel the tip of the brush in that centre, as part of their body. Painting without any expectation, is it easy?...Yes.....No, but very rewarding and life affirming.

The Centre

2012-01-11T20:08:00.000-08:00

I was listening to a artist's talk about where the creativity comes from. The way she put is it that it comes from one's centre. I always talk about that connection to the centre. The way she presented it was that centre was where all of our previous experiences, knowledge, feelings and memories are accumulated. She stated that when we create, we are feeding from that place.

I would call that place the subconscious mind and most likely where many of the art forms come from.

When it comes to Oriental Brush Painting (Sumi-e) and the way I draw, it doesn't come from the baggage of all those feelings and knowledge. Actually to be able to create in Zen way/spirit you have to connect to the place where you are at the present moment and neither the past nor the future ever existed and you are just representing the connection, the essence of what you are seeing. That's what I call the stillness, Centre.

A Thought on Composition

2011-11-04T19:07:00.000-07:00

According to Wikipedia, “composition is the placement or arrangement of visual elements or ingredients in a work of art,... It can also be thought of as the organization of the elements of art according to the principles of art”.

In my understanding/experience, it is kind of a harmony that you bring out while creating your artwork. This is the harmony that there is within and without. If you connect with it and work from that place, your artwork will be well composed, without needing to apply “principles of art”. Why do we see so many disturbing, disharmonious artwork these days? Does it mean that the artist has lost the connection with that harmony?

Just Thinking (2)

2011-10-30T19:21:00.000-07:00

I was walking in the park the other day and from a distance, I saw a large black interesting shape. My first thought was that the city had put up a new sculpture. As I came closer to it, I realized that it was just a city sign, covered with a black plastic bag. It wasn't deliberately placed and it was definitely not meant to be an artwork. Thus, if the aspect of it being deliberate is important, then everything is art, as long as one chooses to call it so. I am not comfortable with this.

Just Thinking (1)

2011-10-27T13:30:00.000-07:00

I would like to share with you my impression of art. After all, impression is simply the interpretation of the mind.

What is art? For me, art is a way of sharing the emotion felt, or the connection made, during its creation. As an artist, it means seeing beyond the mundane. This can be done so easily with practically anything that surrounds us. One can gaze at a mess on a table, and to some it can be interpreted as a mess, however, to others it becomes a interaction of many shapes, forms and colours that create a feeling so special that it becomes art. So does that mean that if I decide to share this experience with others, I can call it Art?

The Sumi-e of Words

2011-09-16T20:41:00.000-07:00

I have decided to take a personal challenge.......that of keeping a blog.

Now, how does one blog, if one is running away from excessive words and is preoccupied most of the time in quieting the mind and trying to find that peaceful place within.....a place which puts one in touch with one's soul? This place needs no words... just feelings.

I think my challenge ahead will be to bring out the essence of thoughts...just the essence... anything more would spoil me intent.

I went for a walk the other day and enjoyed being one with nature. My mind was quiet and peaceful. I started feeling the energy of individual trees and how they were different and powerful in their own way. It was a very unique sensation, something I have never felt or realized that I felt before. In the joy of the moment, I tried in my mind to find words to describe the feeling, but as soon as I started to formulate it, the connection left. It felt as logic, as useful as it is for our survival, failed me.

People place a lot of value on the story (the words) behind a painting. Sometimes it seems the stories are more important than the actual artwork. That is where the mind seems to want to be....in the past, in the future and in the drama.

I cannot provide story for any of my work, as there is none. It is how I connected to the subject, and the feeling that I had at that moment. My hope is that when people look at my art, they too will feel what I felt ….without words...without explanations...

My Journey as a Sumi-e , Pencil drawing Artist

2011-08-30T13:41:00.000-07:00

I was born in Yerevan, Armenia It was part of the former Soviet Union, and freedom of expression in any form was severely restricted. Nevertheless, I found refuge in study of biology, which presented me with means of connecting with nature's own creativity.

At the age of 20, I immigrated to Montreal, Canada where I continued my studies in biology, and received a Bachelor of Science degree from Sir George Williams University, now Concordia University. In my first job as research assistant at McGill University, I used light and electron microscopes as tools of investigation. I felt that I was observing the symbiosis of living organisms, their inexorable interrelation, the vitality and somewhat veiled simplicity of life.

Initially, my art developed out of this understanding and was inspired by the organic shapes of the microscopic world, by plant and animal forms, and by the human figure. In 1986 I graduated from Concordia University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Art.

I continued my work as a scientist after moving to Ottawa with my young family, in 1989. I practiced my art whenever time permitted. The opportunity to study sumi-e, or Japanese brush painting, came to me when I met and studied with the noted artist Tomoko Kodama, whose breathing brush method opened new means of self-expression.

Health challenges has lead me to other Eastern philosophies and practices in addition to sumi-e, such as tai chi, Taoism and Zen Buddhism.

I paint, draw, and try to live with their teachings. I use graphite pencil or ink and graphite to draw my human figures , where the emphasis is on capturing the mood or energy in a minimalist way. I use spare, suggestive outlines and shades to emphasize the contrasts between dark and light – yin and yang energies. My paintings are in sumi-e style, based on classic Chinese and Japanese calligraphic strokes. I aim at rendering the spirit, or chi, rather than the semblance of an object or person. My growing experience reveals to me more of the parallels that exist between tai chi, art and life.