Aitoh, a Japanese art supply warehouse in Hot Springs, offers a wide variety of Japanese art supplies, including paints, inks, papers, and tools.
The warehouse, which is open by appointment only, also offers a selection of Shikishi boards, which are popular surfaces for artists in Japan. Shikishi boards are made from fine handmade art paper laminated to a hard board backing. They are edged in gold and are traditionally used for sumi paintings, haiku poems, calligraphy, and watercolor paintings.
“Shikishi boards are a great option for artists because they are already mounted and ready to hang,” said Beth Wild, owner of Aitoh. “There is no need for a frame, archival mounting, or matte. Just work on the board and the piece is finished.”
Shikishi boards are also very versatile and can be used with a variety of mediums, including ink and brush, pen and ink, watercolor, gouache, liquid acrylic, colored pencil, collage, and markers. Aitoh has 5 different surfaces available, including hosho (traditional Japanese paper), Gasen (Japanese paper with a slight laid line pattern), Torinoko (off-white/cream Japanese paper), gold, and silver (metallic surfaces that still allow liquid color to adhere).
The boards come in standard metric sizes. Aitoh has 6 different sizes, most in the popular Hosho surface, rectangles ranging from 4.75” x 5.25” to 12.63” x 16.13”, and a long panel (Tanzaku) 2.34” x 14.25” that can be used vertically or horizontally. If you would like to check out Shikishi Boards for your artwork, contact Aitoh at 800-681-5533 to arrange an appointment to visit the warehouse located at 2720 Mountain Pine Road, Hot Springs.
