ORANGE BEACH, Ala — Coastal Arts Center's final Visiting Artist Exhibit of 2012 will feature the work of internationally recognized sumi-e artist Maria Papp.

Her work will be on display Nov. 15 through Jan. 12. Papp, a native of Buenos Aires, attended the Fine Arts Institute of Buenos Aires. Papp began working with Sumi-e or ink brush painting more than 25 years ago.

Papp’s work has been featured and recognized in regional, national, and international exhibits and was selected to be part of an annual juried show in the International Asian Artists of Sumi-e with exhibitions in Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka, Japan, Taiwan and the United States.

She has exhibited at Mobile Museum of Art and University of South Alabama Library.

What is sumi-e?

The Japanese work Sumi-e means 'ink picture' or 'black ink painting.' Sumi-e is an ancient art form that distills the essence of a subject into a few brush strokes and is a meditative discipline. Simplicity is the most outstanding characteristic of this art form.

The 2,000 year-old art form of Japanese brush painting is spiritually rooted in Zen Buddhism. Sumi-e's earliest practitioners were highly disciplined monks trained in the art of concentration, clarity, and simplicity.

These early Zen Masters dedicated themselves to the art form with spiritual intensity through long years of serious reflection and strict discipline. Respect for Sumi-e's demands shaped their aesthetic direction.

The monks adhered to a rigorous schedule of meditation in preparation for painting. Entering a deep contemplative state was at the core of the creative process: preparing the inkstone, grinding the sumi ink, loading the brush (fude), releasing the brush stroke on rice paper or silk scroll.

Mastering the nuances of the black sumi ink was more difficult than painting with color and required consummate skill. www.drue.net/sumi-e-history.htm

"If we study Japanese Art, we see a man who is undoubtedly wise, philosophic and intelligent, who spends his time doing what? In studying the distance between the earth and moon? No. In studying Bismark's policy? No. He studies a single blade of grass." -- Vincent Van Gogh (from www.silverdragonstudio.com