Recent innovations

Historically brush painting has been done on hand-made paper of natural materials, with black ink, and bamboo brushes with natural bristles. Artists globally have introduced new techniques, new materials, new means of holding ink and using ink, and as well the addition of colours. This has challenged the historic notion of the great brush artists that viewers can "see colour" in black inks, and have no need to be given colours forcibly by coloured inks as the gradations of ink itself make colour possible in the mind. The use of the entire spectrum of Sandoz dyes, has given a huge range of new colours and these have been integrated quickly: the primary colours first, and then newer colours as well - particularly in flower painting, and in over-seas brush artists and Europeans who are less restricted by traditional brush painting codes.