Hahnemühle FineArt has designed a special paper for Japanese sumi-e painting. This very absorbent paper is ideal for “freestyle” brush painting. “sumi” means “black ink” and “e” means both “path” and “painting”. The natural white paper creates strong contrasts as the brush glides across the surface. Sumi-e is acid free and extremely age resistant.

The style of brush painting is both a simple and yet highly aesthetic drawing made of powerful, mostly chasing and rapidly executed lines. Patience and inner harmony are essential in brush painting to capture the spirit of the subject. Sumi-e is therefore not only an Asian painting technique but also a form of spiritual relaxation therapy. Sumi-e painting evolved in the 5th century from Chinese calligraphy. The main subjects are taken from nature. In the 12th century Zen monks brought the technique to Japan where even today Sumi-e painting has a decisive influence on lifestyle.