Ania Gilmore's Japanese Sumi-e

Along the River

We saw another of Ania's paintings at a juried show at the Concord Art Center this winter. From across the room, it was unmistakably hers. Without the color of "Along the River," "Out in the Town," above, nonetheless grabbed me. It depicted lobsters, which I'd never imagine being attracted to. Go figure. I think it's the work's delicate brush strokes and their varied thicknesses that I like so much, and the perfect downward direction. I've included "Family Circus" below, just because I like it--and its title.



Before we met and spoke with her (as she took down an exhibit of her work at Starbuck's in Lexington, Massachusetts), I would have characterized her work, broadly, as "in the Japanese style." But now I know more--and you can too. Just go to www.wisegeek.com/what-is-sumi-e.htm for a coherent explanation of Sumi-e, this ancient Asian painting technique.

Ania says that "A few years ago, I took an art class in China and Japan that enabled me to grasp the values of a culture rich with a history I had not been exposed to in the past. I was able to examine Asian art, culture, and architecture, which inspired me to look for the inner peace that I found in Japanese Sumi-e." Ania loved Sumi-e's "simplicity, quietness, and the white space that is the hardest to paint, but necessary to rest one's eye on. The peace that I was looking for arrived, quietly and unexpectedly."

The "Rich Cricket" is among her denser, more colorful works. The yellow-greens in this painting really appeal to me. And you have to pay close attention to actually detect the cricket.

Ania's recent work is "The One Hundred Tea Pots."

She is very prolific, so it's impossible to show more than a tiny fraction of her work here. But you can take a look at more at www.aniaartstudio.com/studio/Gallery.aspx?gallery=Sumi-e. Email her at design@aniaart.com.