The Artist
"The word "Nihon-ga" (literally Japanese painting) designates in general the schools of painting established in Japan as far back as the 8th Century. All of them use as media ink(sumi), mineral pigments (iwa-enogu), ground-shell white (gofun), gold and silver leaf; as well as hand-made paper or silk as support materials.There are two major branches in "Nihon-ga": One is essencially monochrome ink painting, spontaneous and calligraphic (suiboku and Zen painting), the other uses colour and is more detailed and formal. In both forms, the most important job of the artist consists in rendering the essence of the chosen subject, be it an animal, a tree or a flower. The result is a more intimate and subjective form of art.
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