Sumi-e is the art of Japanese ink painting, a very elegant, simple, and beautiful style that I find fascinating. Anyone who has studied sumi-e can look at this and tell it's a pretty poor example of the art (it's also unusual to use color in a sumi painting), but I make no claim to be anything more than a curious beginner. Actually, this is the only sumi painting I've done that wasn't practice or experimental, and it was made with a cute little student kit that I got for Christmas a few years ago, with an ink stick, an ink stone, brushes, a tiny water cup and spoon, a brush holder, and a red inkpad and stamp. I didn't use the stamp for this drawing because it's my understanding that the stamp is the artist's signature and is supposed to be meaningful and signify a mastery of the art. I can't claim proficiency, let alone mastery, so I didn't feel right using any stamp, plus I have no clue what the one in the kit means, so on the whole I figured I'd just let it alone.
I'd love to go into a discussion about sumi-e and the techniques and meanings behind it, but I'm not really qualified. So I recommend to anyone who's interested to search the net or the library for information.
Mochiko's picture is, as I mentioned before, linked stylistically to Shashi's in that it is drawn with ink, and to Kannon's in that it is black and white, with a small touch of color. Shashi's is much more elaborate and ornate, while Kannon's is sketchier and shows more action. Like I said, this was pretty much unintentional, but I like what the results say about the bonds between Mochiko and the two guys, and the personalities of all three of them.
Unfortunately, Diana didn't get Mochiko's bio up in time, and I didn't get a chance to pester her in email or on the forum for more information, so I don't feel I had that great a handle on her past or personality. I really liked her character design, though, and I'm a sucker for anything cute and furry, particularly rabbits (it comes of reading 'Watership Down' as a kid), and she has gorgeous eyes. I wasn't entirely sure what to write about in her haiku, so it deals more with the concept of beauty and my perceptions of the style of sumi paintings than Mochiko herself.
In retrospect, it might also have been fun to draw her as sort of an anthropomorphic bunny-girl, although that wouldn't translate well into ink painting. On a random note, I got a vivid mental image this morning of her drinking coffee from a pink mug and grinning in a slightly over-caffeinated manner. I have no idea what this means.
ShashiThis is spacer text because it is 2am and I am tired of fixing html bits...Kannon 
Character copyright Diana, 2002
Image copyright Bridgie, 2002
