Hi Teddy, thanks for popping in. i agree with you, I think the practice part is definitely the biggest part of it. Why so few people talk about it is beyond me. It's accepted for musicians that you need to practice regularly, why not for visual artists too?
Just signed up on your website. Most art sites I come across promise the reader they can create a fabulous painting in one or two steps. You actually show that specific practise is necessary to make progress.
Hi Mike. Yes, it's a traditional hold - or as near as I can get to it! It should really be held more perpendicular than I have it here. The same hold is used for Sumi E and for traditional Chinese painting. The advantage is that you have a lot of flexibility whilst obscuring as little of your drawing with your hand as possible - that becomes much more of an issue when practising circles, for example.
Paul, I'm wondering about the way you hold the brush vertical between the fingers. Is that a traditional sumi brush painting method of holding the brush, or your personal preference?
