It starts with a basin of water covered with a thin layer of motionless, liquid paint, then add one drop of paint. Watch this artist employ Suminagashi to create these beautiful and colorful works of art.
Suminagashi is an ancient Japanese technique used for painting on water, creating a marbleized style paintings. Its Japanese name means literally “ink-floating”, a fitting name for this unique technique. The patterns form as the dye floats on a viscous solution or water. Later on, it can be transferred to paper or another absorbing canvas for preservation.
Some may even have learned the basics of this technique in high school or college, as it is fairly widespread. Suminagashi painting technique is popular since it uses affordable materials, is manageable to learn, and one can produce beautiful pieces in comparatively little time.
Though paintings produced with Suminagashi are often abstract, which many painters have taken to new heights and produce all kinds of beautifully elaborate shapes and patterns.