LAURIS PHILLIPS SUMI-E
Since 2016 I have spent hundreds of hours observing and photographing the Greater Sandhill Cranes on their courting and nesting ground at the Modoc National Wildlife Refuge.
The paintings in this gallery were all inspired by those photos and made with either Japanese sumi ink or with handmade watercolors from materials sourced from the Refuge. My brushes are handmade from local animal fur and my pens from crane quills.
A portion of sales from this work will go to the preservation of habitat for this threatened species. Please inquire on my Contact page.
handmade charcoal-watercolor/handmade badger brush 18x26
handmade charcoal-watercolor/handmade badger brush
sumi with badger brush on kozo paper
sumi with rabbit brush on kozo paper 10x12
sumi with badger brush on kozo paper
sumi with weasel brush on kozo paper
sumi with weasel brush on kozo paper
sumi with crane quill pen on kozo paper
sumi with crane quill pen & rabbit brush on kozo paper
sumi with rabbit brush on kozo paper
handmade charcoal-watercolor/handmade badger & mole brushes 18x26
handmade charcoal-watercolor/handmade badger & mole brushes 18x26
DESERT ESSENCE was a benefit show for ANZA-BORREGO FOUNDATION.
DESERT ESSENCE was the fruition of an informal Artist's Residency in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. An exhibit of 7 paintings of flowers, jackrabbits and desert ram's horns, in pigments gathered in the desert adjacent to the Park, with brushes made from local animal fur; it was Anza-Borrego painted with Anza-Borrego. It opened October 10, 2015 at the Borrego Art Institute in Borrego Springs, Ca.
Sumi and handmade desert-pigment watercolor, with handmade Jackrabbit brushes, 13 x 16 in
Desert charcoal watercolor with handmade Coyote brush, 22 x 38 in
Sumi with handmade Coyote & Jackrabbit brushes, 15 x 19 in
Sumi and watercolor with handmade Coyote & Jackrabbit brushes, 15 x 19 in
Sumi with handmade Coyote & Jackrabbit brushes, 18 x 13 in
Sumi and handmade desert-pigment watercolor, with handmade Jackrabbit brushes, 13 x 16 in
made during Artist's Residency at Anza-Borrego State Park, April 2015
Sumi and handmade desert-pigment watercolor, with handmade Jackrabbit brushes, 16 x 13 in
with handmade raccoon brush, 13 x 13 in
handmade raccoon brush 13 x 14 in
with handmade grey-squirrel brush, 27 x 18 in
with handmade grey-squirrel brush, 27 x 18 in
with handmade raccoon brush, including silk border 33 x 85
Calligraphy by Shaku Daijo
Shaku Daijo is priest of Daishu-in West Rinzai Zen Temple, in Northern California.
A portion of the sale of this folding, framed screen will go to Daishu-in West, with much gratitude for collaboration and teaching.
with handmade raccoon brush, 14 x 9 in
with handmade raccoon brush, 14 x 9 in
with handmade grey-squirrel brush, 13 x 9 in
18 x 13 in
with handmade raccoon brush, 14 x 27
with handmade raccoon brush, 14 x 23 in
with handmade raccoon brush, 14 x 13 in
Indigo watercolor, with handmade grey-squirrel brush, 13 x 54 in
Indigo watercolor with a handmade grey-squirrel brush, 36 x 27 in
Indigo watercolor with a handmade grey-squirrel brush, 27 x 18 in
digital print on silk, 78 x 30 in
Calligraphy by Shaku Daijo:
"There is nowhere to look for them,
the traces a bird leaves in the sky"
sumi & watercolor, 27 x 14 in
27 x 14 in
with handmade raccoon brush, 14 x 24 in
sumi & watercolor, 13 x 18 in
with handmade raccoon brush, 18 x 22 in
sumi & watercolor with handmade raccoon brush, 18 x 22 in
sumi & watercolor with handmade coyote brush, 13 x 18 in
sumi & watercolor, 13 x 18 in
sumi & watercolor, 25 x 17 in
with handmade raccoon brush, including silk border 18 x 18
sumi & watercolor, 8 x 8 in
with handmade weasel brush on green paper, 22 x 13 in
with handmade weasel brush, 8 x 8.5 in
with handmade weasel brush, 9 x 10.5 in
with handmade weasel brush, 18 x 13 in
with handmade weasel brush, 12 x 11 in
with handmade weasel brush on green paper, 18 x 13 in
with handmade weasel brush, 22 x 13 in
with handmade dog brush, 18 x 12 in
with handmade weasel brush, 22 x 12 in
with handmade weasel brush, 25 x 27 in
with handmade weasel brush, 15 x 25 in
with handmade dog brush, 18 x 13 in
with handmade weasel brush, 26 x 6 in
with handmade coyote brush, 18 x 14 in
with handmade coyote brush, 18 x 14 in
with handmade coyote brush
with handmade coyote brush, 14 x 9
with handmade weasel brush, including silk border 13 x 9 in
with handmade raccoon brush, including silk border 19 x 15
with its own ink & handmade coyote brush, 9 x 14 in
a note on Plicopurpura pansa:
The purple ink you see here is a natural dye secreted by a small sea snail named Plicopurpura pansa.
It lives in the high impact zones of tidal rocky areas of western Mexico and Central America. It is thought that P. pansa uses this secretion, a neurotoxin, for defense and for disabling other snails before eating them. It has been used for centuries by native Mexican dyers to color wool for weaving. They gather the fluid by "milking the snail" which entails taking the critter from its rock at low tide, turning it upside-down and blowing on or poking the operculum until the snail gives up it's milk-like white fluid. The snail is then put back on its rock, slightly traumatized, but fine.
I found P. pansa living in large numbers on the southwest coast of Baja. My process of collecting the fluid was similar to the traditional dyers, but rather than pour it directly onto a skein of yarn I poured it into a bottle and took it back to my temporary studio. By the time I had hassled 100 or so snails I had about 2 ounces of the "milk". The fluid was light green by the time I painted with it, then changed to turquoise and finally to the delicate purple that you see here as it dried in the sunlight; a photo-oxidizing dye.
Out of respect I painted only "self-portraits" of Plicopurpura pansa with its precious ink.
with its own ink & handmade coyote brush, 9 x 14 in
with its own ink & handmade coyote brush, 9 x 14 in
with its own ink, sumi & handmade coyote brush, 7 x 9 in
with its own ink & handmade coyote brush, 14 x 9 in
Many of the brushes I use are made by myself from the tails of road-killed animals or otherwise collected fur. I am offering some of these for sale. These are made from coyote, grey squirrel, raccoon, fox and horse. The handles are of homegrown bamboo.
The marks and lines possible from these unique brushes are excitingly wild or graceful and always full of personality. They can be used for sumi-e or calligraphy. I can custom make a brush for you. Cost will vary according to size. Please inquire on my contact page.
large fox, medium racoon and small squirrel
made during Artist's Residency at Anza-Borrego State Park, April 2015
from Modoc County, for my crane paintings
Sisal fibre bound with copper wire to a bamboo handle
This brush was constructed with Ellen LeBel at my studio for use in a calligraphy workshop by Pearl Huang and Ellen.
