ETEGAMI

 

You must be wondering what I'm up to!  I saw a post on Nature sketchers last week that mentioned Etegami and being curious I went in search of enlightenment.  It's a Japanese style of painting that is carried out using Japanese or Chinese inks and a brush to make the outlines and do the script.

 

 

 

The idea is that you hold the brush at the tip of the handle and draw freely from the elbow. I have a brush pen filled with black ink so I got started and it's very hard to draw in this way, the lines are very wobbly! But the intention of an etegami is that it is spontaneous and errors and blobs don't matter. Nevertheless I have had to rest my wrist on the table to make anything presentable!

  

 

 

The writing is a short phrase to give a message or just cheer someone up. The images are made on postcards so that they can be sent to friends and family.

I had bought a set of Chinese ink drawing equipment a few years ago and included there was a 'chop', a little stone stick intended to be carved with one's signature to stamp on the finished card.  There was also a little pot of red ink, still moist after all this time to use to make the mark.  I managed eventually to carve my initials on the bottom of the stick, getting it right ( image reversed) on the second attempt!

 

 

Then I was away, trying to think of images to draw and some amusing or interesting words to add.  This has kept me amused for days and I'll try to do a new one every week which I'll post on the new facebook group I've joined, Etegami Fun Club.