Ink painting an alpine meadow

Thank you for reading another zen Monday. ありがとうございました。As mentioned last week, one of the challenges of ink painting mountain postcards is getting the right ink flow. My brush pens jostle around in my backpack, and together with the altitude change during travel combine to create uncontrollable ink flow. It is as if the ink suddenly switches from fine line to running down from a tap. Be it a bird or an alpine meadow, I need to search for alternative methods which live up to my ink painting subject expectations. What do I paint then?

Well, I can make really large ink drops, and if I work really, really fast somewhat tinier drops. At first I think “this is going nowhere but a wasted ink painting postcard”. Then I look at the close-up picture of these pink flowers on the alpine meadow above. In addition to that photo above, I took a number of photos from other wild mountain flowers for later reference.

When looking at the first picture again I thought – why not? With a bit of luck and a lot of speed, these alpine flowers are just an infinity of colour ink drops neatly arranged on the horizon.

Find your alternative approach

Often we are so focused on how we “usually do things around here” that we fail to see how a different approach might lead us to a far more interesting outcome. Even if it requires the patience and trust in your skills to place lots of different drops in the right places.

This week, reach for the beauty and infinity of your own alpine meadow – or whatever challenge you’re working on. Try out a new approach and trust your skill to carry you through. Wishing you a great week ahead!

Every Monday is zen Monday. Always a weekly dose of Japanese ink painting coupled with one Japanese word, sometimes a poem. Zen mondays are also on instagram and twitter.

via “Alpine Meadow”