When you first put your brush into the ink, one has this strange feeling of anticipation and indecision. You are about to begin something new and there is no guide and no booklet that will tell you how to do it. It is only you, the ink, and a piece of paper. You may actually think that you are clumsily trying to find your way through it at first, not knowing what your strokes are which is a part of the excitement. Ink will not demand perfection. It asks you to surrender, to have faith in the process, to accept the outcome. It is like an act of leaping into the darkness and discovering that there is something beautiful about the mayhem. Want quick access to lessons, go here and begin.
Ink painting is not a set of rules. It is more of an invitation to experiment. You allow the brush to move on the paper. The ink is applied randomly and sometimes you might end up having to work with the spots and transforming them into something unique. There’s no rigid formula here. Your stroke will occasionally get a little out of hand, but rather than making a panicky decision, you learn to make that an element of the design. It is a kind of art where you need to make an error and learn that it can take you somewhere you never thought to go and that is the enjoyable part.
The ink painting is beautiful because it is open to interpretation. One day you may pay attention to small things–making the leaves and flowers, or to fine lines. The following day you might be doing an abstract pattern in bold and sweeping strokes filling the page. It has no right or wrong way of doing it. The medium is flexible because you can paint a serene picture or a more animated one. Ink painting is something that calls on you to experiment with what is right to you at the time, and there is no judgment at that. Just pure expression.
As you move along your journey with ink painting, it is not simply doing a drawing anymore. It becomes a time of awareness. The even, slow strokes of the brush compel you to listen, to leave your mind and come to reality. Something meditative in it. Any blow causes you to look at what is immediately in front of you. It does not mean going through the process fast, but spending time with the ink and paper. It is a silent retreat, a period of withdrawal and simply paint to paint.
Still not sure that you are going to jump into ink painting, then just jump into it. The only difference is that it does not matter whether you are experienced or a full beginner. The brush does not notice what you can do on it, it simply needs to be used. You do not need a big picture to begin with. Let the ink surprise you. It is not about creating something perfect, it is about something new each time one picks up the brush. Therefore, take a brush, be creative and have fun. You may only surprise yourself.