Jenso

​"Jenso" - mixed media on SOHO urban painting board, 12" x 16".  Ready to frame.  Available here and at Artfinder.

I was playing with the art of enso  using my sumi-e brush and some ink last week.  But what do you think happened?  A bit of malarkey and my own "jenso", who is collaged with materials at the Morikami Japanese Gardens last month.  A little sideways visit to Japan, one might say.

​I consider this piece a failed enso, but a happy whimsical accident.  She makes me smile with her pretty kimono and side buns.

This is also my first time using SOHO painting boards.  They are less expensive than aquabord, and a bit heartier than Crescent board or Canson art board.  This one held a ton of liquid without buckling, but doesn't generate the same groovy textures as on the aquabord.  I will use it again, without inks, and see what happens.

Using ink in a painting is pretty much a forced surrender.  The ink cannot be controlled, nor can it be completely covered. Like an old hurt deeply buried, ink returns - seeping up through gesso and acrylic paint, regardless of the number of layers.  A reminder of what came before, and the need to embrace all that is our experience, even the parts we wish to bury.  Ink becomes a lesson in making lemonade of lemons.  Who knew certain art supplies mandate a personal archeological dig?

There is one aspect of the enso process I truly enjoy - vocal painting.  The more theatrical of the enso painters use large brushes (imagine brooms) and martial arts stances, along with guttural growls and shouts.  Now DO try this at home!  There is something delightfully mischievous about shouting and growling as you paint circles with big arm gestures.  Not to mention the looks you get from certain family members wandering by your studio door...though it might be more impressive if I weren't in a flowery bathrobe and pajamas.  

And speaking of physicality in artistry, here is a previously unreleased recording of Prince, along with a video montage of his incredible dance moves to start your week off right.