I loved the work of Hiromi Katayama’s the first moment I saw it at the Armory Art Center. From a short distance her work is captivating. Up close, the gorgeous, layered pigments intrigued me. They looked completely different from any media with which I had worked. I asked her about her painting technique. Hiromi explained that she was working with traditional Japanese paints, using fairly traditional methods. In conjunction with an exhibit of her work at Palm Beach Gardens City Hall, Hiromi offered a three hour workshop to learn about Japanese Nihonga painting. The workshop was both exhilarating and challenging. Hiromi demonstrated how she uses her fingers to mix the pigments with binder and water in tiny porcelain dishes. She explained that she places her art on the floor and works on her paintings while squatting. If a painting is large, traditional Japanese painters will build a small bridge over their artwork, permitting them to access all parts of their work in progress. I hope to have an opportunity to try Nihonga again soon.
My Nihonga painting of koi
This site offers a fairly good overview of Nihonga. http://nihonganotes.blogspot.com
Hiromi uses her fingers to mix pigment and medium in a shallow porcelain dish
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