SILK
It started with an idea...
Silk painting has been present for a very long time. In that long history, different techniques were developed, but my personal interest is in the traditional Chinese way of painting on silk. A couple of years ago, I started to research and experiment with the materials, but only recently (in 2019.) I was able to finish a whole composition.
That’s when I stumbled upon a book in an online library, called The Mustard Seed Manual of Painting. This manual contains four volumes about the art of Chinese painting, and the first volume was published in 1679. It’s something you shouldn’t miss if you want to have a good start with understanding the Art of China. The manual speaks not just about the technique, but also about the fundamental pillars on which the Chinese art was built, and the transcendental message it carries. Imagine how happy I was when I read the article by Aiden Hart The Mustard Seed Garden Manual of Painting : A Chinese painting manual offers inspiration to iconographers. By then, I had almost completed my first work Enlightenment of Japan, and in the fall of 2019. the work was exhibited in Belgrade on the annual exhibition of the Graphics and Painting sections of ULUPUDS, which was held in the Residence of Princess Ljubica.
-min.jpg)
I read about Saint Nicholas of Japan nine years ago, and since then, his life and work, his sacrifice and devotion to the Orthodox faith and to the people of Japan have been an inspiration. When I started thinking about painting on silk, the life of Saint Nicholas came as a natural choice for the theme.
The icon depicts his arrival to Japan, encounter with a samurai and Shinto priest Sawabe Takuma, and in the last scene we can see the Orthodox Church he built in Tokyo with the Orthodox believers.
My last works uses glass as a carrier for the silk, which makes an interesting surface to paint.
Silk continues to inspire me, and I’ll keep on using it. I’m painting new pieces, which will be posted on the site eventually.
Thank you for reading!
MM
