Oil Painting on Shikishi — Sébastien Coueffic

Interview with Sébastien Coueffic

Sébastien Coueffic is a French painter whose work explores architecture, light, and spaces devoid of direct human presence. As part of the Shikishi Art Project at Art San Gallery, he chose to approach the shikishi through oil painting—a medium rarely associated with this support.

The interview that follows documents this experience as an ongoing process: a careful exploration of the support, its resistances, its potential, and the shifts it introduces into pictorial practice.

Sébastien Couëffic working on a shikishi in his studio.

What did you feel when you first held a shikishi in your hands?

I felt a great sense of lightness in this support, along with a strong sense of preciousness in relation to the materials. The speckled paper shimmered in the sunlight and in the light of my painting studio.

Did you have a preconceived image or idea of this support before working on it?

This support is a format that can be read either vertically or horizontally. It is almost square—at least the boards I worked on for the exhibition. I immediately projected it as a window of my mind, allowing my gaze to see straight through the shikishi toward my subject drawn from reality.I worked mainly with vertical formats stretching upward, almost toward the sky. The composition settled very quickly and quite simply within this format. I envisioned architectural cities, and the composition came together very naturally. The format is extremely important in the realization of the subject; there is a particular resonance to it.

The shikishi is historically associated with ink, drawing, and writing. How does this specificity distinguish it from a canvas or a conventional panel?

I inevitably felt the historical and cultural weight carried by this format. From there, I adapted my work through extensive research, particularly through my tools. I experimented with brushes and bristle brushes, and created washes using watercolor brushes.I then returned with shorter brushes with slightly stiffer bristles to apply the paint. The shikishi influenced my work, which remains rooted in the perspective of a Western painter trained in European art history.

Do you treat the shikishi as a neutral surface or as an already “inhabited” space?

The surface of the shikishi is not neutral. The paper is speckled, beautiful, granular, and full of character. I did not want to alter this support with too many layers.I worked in a light manner, almost alla prima, a painting executed in a single gesture. It is about the gesture itself and the effort involved in releasing the energy of that gesture in relation to the gaze.

Does the shikishi change your bodily posture or your distance from the support?

In my first attempts, I reworked my usual methodology. I made a sketch and a thin underlayer, thinking that oil paint diluted with turpentine would be too absorbent.In reality, the shikishi is very resilient and was able to absorb the paint without weakening it. I therefore adapted my practice, working directly with oil and turpentine.I generally work standing up, using bodily balance and distance to construct the image while deploying my energy.

What differences do you feel between the shikishi and your usual supports?

The shikishi absorbs oil paint in a very interesting way. The pigment remains lively and compact, allowing shadows and depth to emerge. This makes it possible to continue working in additional and successive layers.

Were you aware that you were entering an experimental field by working with oil on shikishi?

The shikishi is not a familiar format for a European painter. I drew inspiration from the work of Mathurin Méheut, a Breton painter who lived in Japan, but the shikishi itself remained a completely unknown territory. It required a gentle approach and the patience to observe the subject.

Did you have to develop your own technical solutions?

Yes. I worked with the idea of reserve, because a layer applied to the shikishi cannot easily be corrected. The fragile support records every trace of action, unlike a more resistant canvas.There is a precious balance between fragility, delicacy, and the shikishi’s extraordinary capacity for absorption.

How does the shikishi format affect the way you compose an artwork?

The golden border of the shikishi intrigued me greatly. It functions like an aura framing the subject. I was careful not to paint over it, leaving a space—a white or cream margin around the painting—like a breath before reaching the edges.

Do you work with the same number of layers as on your larger formats?

On shikishi, there are fewer layers than on larger formats. It will likely take years of experimentation to understand the limits of this support.As for mistakes, for me there are none: a mistake becomes a new creation. The shikishi offers a remarkable balance for new forms of experimentation.

Does drying time affect your working rhythm?

No, drying time did not change my rhythm. I sometimes worked on several shikishi at once, occasionally more quickly.

Do you approach each shikishi as an autonomous work or as part of a larger ensemble?

I worked on a corpus, a constructed ensemble. The repetition of gesture exists, but variations in color mixing, adaptation to the format, off-frame composition, and shadow create a unique work each time.This approach has influenced my larger formats—for example, architectural views measuring one meter by one meter—painted using watercolor brushes with oil paint.

Do you feel that a work on shikishi creates a more intimate relationship with the viewer?

The shikishi is precious. The face-to-face encounter with the viewer is hypnotic, almost ritualistic.The surface’s sheen concentrates the image within a narrative shaped by the history of the subject. The viewer’s gaze is thus guided, while remaining unique to each individual.

Are you sensitive to the history of the shikishi and to the use of a non-traditional medium on it?

Yes. Using oil paint on shikishi alters my position as an artist in relation to the history of the support. It creates an extraordinary form of cross-fertilization.Art history lives through such hybridizations, and the shikishi allows this movement to continue.

Have you adapted your choices regarding finishing or your thinking about durability?

The durability of oil painting on shikishi remains to be tested. Some works are less than a year old. We will need to see in five or ten years.For now, I have not used varnish in order to preserve a raw relationship with the surface. I am considering solid framing or glazing for protection, but I do not think about finishing from the outset.

What have you discovered about your own practice through working with shikishi?

The shikishi has entered my practice. It brings lightness and speed, while still allowing depth and narrative.It is a luminous, hypnotic window that captures a decisive moment, deeply rooted in Japanese culture.This support makes it possible to accompany history with simplicity and elevation. I wish to continue experimenting, to find new subjects, and to open this path to other artists.

Selected works created by Sébastien Coueffic as part of the Shikishi Art Project can be viewed here.→ View artworks