Ray Bliss Rich
I studied sumi-e painting and gyotaku printmaking in the
early 1980's. The study of these two Oriental art forms
has influenced the character of my artwork; just as all
aspects of my life conspire to the final outcome of my
art istic expression. My love of the natural world, as
well as attachments to the past, can be seen in my work.
I grew up in a small rural community; at a time when
craftsmanship was held in high esteem and frugality was
the order of the day. Those are things that influenced my
pursuit of the simplicity of sumi-e; and those influences can
be seen in my unique application of the tools and techniques
of that discipline. A natural extension of that was my pursuit
of nature printing (including gyotaku printmaking)a couple
of years later.
One of the things that initially attracted me to the sumi-e
style is the fact that you can still see the paper. It isn’t
virtually covered up as with other water media styles. This
quality lends itself to the use of very unique papers. After
several years of using imported papers I began to make my
own. Now all of my paintings are done on my own hand made
paper; which means the hand of the artist is all the more
evident in my work. I try to make texturally and visually
interesting papers that do not overpower or compete with my
delicate brushwork; and I try to do brushwork that compliments
the paper.
By joining this web site I hope to broaden my audience to
an appreciation of the elegant simplicity of sumi-e style
brushwork; as well as the intricate complexities of crafting
one’s own support for that brushwork in the form of hand
made paper. I consider my paper ecologically sound because
I use invasive plant species like Japanese knotweed and
abundant self sustaining (organic) native plant species
like cattail plants, and I recycle used cotton clothing like
denim jeans and t-shirts, to make my unusual hand crafted
hand made papers.
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