Long ago my first husband was an archer. He tried Zen archery and was surprised at how effective it could be, but he realized that an empty mind was necessary to perform well, and he could not always keep his mind empty as he brought down the bow and released the arrow.This year I am trying Zen painting. I do not know anything about Zen painting, but I did study Sumi painting once. My teacher emphasized that every brush stroke must be 'gracive'. I like this word. I try to make every brush stroke gracive, and I try to minimize the strokes. It is fun to analyze an object into a very few strokes, but it is difficult to actually get the brush to move with grace on the paper. Most of my attempts are awful and they don't seem to be improving with time.
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