Wating for New Year

So here are some mopping-ups of my studio work this year:
Cleaning and organizing the studio - it is always pretty much organized 'cause is small studio, but still I have to return some scattered things to the place they belong. Books are to bookshelf, junk mails to trash box, and slippers to on the floor.
Then washing studio apron with thanks for its great jobs it has done for me through this year.
See you next year!

年末大掃除の仕上げはアトリエ整理です。。。。と言っても小さなスペースなので時々整理はしているのですが。とりあえず本棚へ本を戻し、メールを整理し、スリッパは床へ戻しました（＾＾）；
最後にアトリエ用エプロンを洗濯して今年の作業は終わり！（。。。のはず）

My show at Tokyo

I know I am toooo lazy to be a blogger, but I hope to be better in updating all of my digital diaries of this blog and FB.
Here are the photos in my solo show in Tokyo in Oct.

ようやく。。。個展の様子をアップデートしました。
最新作を含め約30点の展示です。
期間中いろいろな人に会えて、またいろいろとやる気になりました（＾＾）

Drop painting series

Drop paintings on right, Chrysanthemum paintings on left, and mini pastels on table

Chrysanthemum painting series

exhibited approx. 15 oil paintings and 15 pastels.

The gallery is in the 1st floor of this unique building.

Announcement of One Person Show II

I am pleased to announce my show at Dorado Gallery in Tokyo.
I will be sitting at the gallery from Fri. through Sun. Please stop by.

Date: Fri. Oct.28 - Tue. Nov.1
Gallery Hours: 12 to 8pm
Venue: Dorado Gallery (Suite 103, Dorado Waseda Bldg., 517 WasedaTsurumaki, Shinjuku, Tokyo)
Phone: 03-6809-3807
*Take Tokyo Metro (Subway) Tozai Line and get off at Waseda Sta.(T-04) 
Go out exit 3a and walk down the slope toward Waseda Junior&Senior High School. 
The gallery is just ahead of the school building
Gallery's website

●個展のお知らせ

ドラードギャラリー
－東京都新宿区早稲田鶴巻町517ドラード和世陀103
－phone:03-6809-3807
－東京メトロ東西線早稲田駅３a出口より徒歩５分

10月28日（金）～11月1日（火）　12:00～20:00 

※金、土、日は作家本人が在廊しています。

新作油彩画を含む20数点の展示を予定しています。

お近くにお立ち寄りの際は是非お越し下さい。

詳しくはギャラリーのサイトをご覧ください。

New Small Work Finished

Been lazy to update my blog.
During that blank period, I was spending most of my time in my studio for painting, in my room for reconstructing my website, and in a gym in my neighbor for playing badminton.

Untitled, oil on painting, 13" x13"

A Small painting is finished. I derived the image from light reflections in trees.
By outfocusing the actual image of trees, I try to depict things existing between the object (trees, in this case) and me.

a week before completion

first day of painting (a month ago)

  I used gesso for the first time, since I usually apply foundation white for underpaintig. Although it seems to absorb more oil from overlayers, gesso makes me easier to even the grains of canvas.
Painting is always repetitive play and experiment for me. I had never satisfied 100% with my any work. Maybe I should say, the very next day after I felt pretty positive about a work and completed with signing, I start to feel something is still missing. Will someday be coming  in the future that my satisfaction will continue for long?
Anyway, it is so nice to play badminton for refreshing.

This work can be viewed at my show in Tokyo in Oct.　(To be announced soon.)

小品の新作です。1枚描くのに行ったり来たりであれこれ時間がかかります。
なかなか100％満足する作品はできませんが、一歩一歩前進していきたいものです。
制作の合間には趣味のバドミントンで気分転換しています。
※上記作品は10月の東京での個展で展示いたします。（詳細は後日）

Chrysanthemum3

Here is my palette of one day and finished work.

burnt umber, black, white, verditer blue, cadmium green pale, rose madder, burnt shienna, olive green, aureolin, rose violet, etc

Chrysanthemum 3,
oil on painting, 46cmx53cm (18"x 21")

I like neutral colors. In most cases, I add some gray or umber to any paints from tube. My color tastes are very much influenced by the climate of Japan; very moderate and humid. For example, sky is not really "blue", it is more like verditer blue, a bit grayish and whitish than cerulean blue. White flowers are either inclined toward yellow or gray. Soft sunlight here enables me to see variations of colors and that might be the reason that I like to play with colors.

「菊３」で使用したある日のパレットです。日本の気候のせいか、自然をモチーフにした絵なので原色よりも中間色を好んで使います。グレーや茶系を混ぜることが多いです。バジターブルー、カドミウムグリーンペール（クサカベ）、オリーブグリーン（ホルベイン）など、よく使います。

Another Group Show at Osaka

Umeda Hankyu, the biggest department store in Osaka, will have summer art festival showcasing works by contemporary artists represented by several hot galleries in Kansai. I will be exhibiting three of my work including oil painting shown below, "Flowers".

exhibition title: "Hankyu Meets Art"
venue: Hankyu Department Store (Umeda, Osaka)　
phone: (06)6361-1381
*My work will be exhibited at 5th floor
date: Aug.3 -Aug.9
shop hours: 10:00 -  20:00

"Flowers", oil on canvas, 53cmx 53cm

For more information, please refer to the website of Hankyu.

大阪でのグループ展のお知らせ

梅田・阪急百貨店で開催される「Hankyu Meets Art」展にて作品を展示いたします。
関西の元気な画廊から様々な作品が出展される予定です。
お近くにお越しの際は是非お立ち寄りください。

日時：8月3日(水）～8月9日（火）　
場所：阪急百貨店梅田本店　2階メーンスタジオおよび４．５．６．７階の特設会場
※私の作品は、スペクトラムギャラリーより5月に開催した個展の作品から数点展示予定（5階特設会場）です。
詳しくは阪急百貨店のウェブサイトをご覧ください。
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Show Announcement

My works are included in the group show at Dorado Gallery, Waseda, Tokyo from July 30 through Aug. 7. The exhibition showcases various interpretation of landscapes by group of contemporary artists.
For further information click here to visit Gallery's blog.


Dorado Gallery 
Gallery hours: 12:00 - 20:00 closed on Wed.
Address: Suite #103, Dorado Waseda Bldg., 517 Waseda Tsurumaki Cho, Shinjuku, Tokyo  
Phone: 03-6809-3807 
*Take Tokyo Metro (Subway) Tozai Line and get off at Waseda Sta.(T-04) 
Go out exit 3a and walk down the slope toward Waseda Junior&Senior High School. 
The gallery is just ahead of the school building. 

グループ展のお知らせ

●ドラードギャラリー（東京・早稲田）

　　「世界の風景画展」　

    7月30日（土）～8月7日（日）　12:00～20:00  水曜休廊

　　東京メトロ東西線早稲田駅３a出口より徒歩５分

　　下記の作品を展示しています。

   お近くにお立ち寄りの際は是非お越し下さい。

   詳しくはギャラリーのサイトをご覧ください。

Pinwheel （かざぐるま）　53cmx53cm, oil on canvas

Sky and Water #2 (空と水-2), 32cmx41cm, oil on canvas

Getting Into High Summer

Still working on two paintings day-by-day basis.
Rainy season has ended and we should prepare for high summer.

Added pale blue and green.
I hope to present air of early summer sunlight.
Need to be painted in layers after layers.

Chrysanthemum #4
Still thinking about background colors.

My body is getting used to studio life without air conditioner.
I am happy that I can save power and bill at the same time.
Oh, but it is really hot! Saying "it's hot" makes me feel hotter!
The only problem to turn on air conditioner is that worsen my poor blood circulation.
However I still like hot summer like summer.
This is the season that we can appreciate the breath of air.
Plus it is the time for fire works, lantern festival, and among all, water melon(+beer after studio hours).
Let's enjoy!

暑いですね。いよいよ本格的な夏の始まりです。
２つの作品を交互に制作中。絵を描くのは意外に暑いので、汗だくになります。
でもクーラー病になりやすいのでこのほうが体にいいのかもしれないと諦めてキャンバスに向かっています。暑いですが夏は好きな季節です。
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New Canvases On Easel

Finishing three shows in a row in Osaka, I came back to my studio and started to prepare for new paintings for another one person show in Oct.

This is the first stage of the painting, in which I hope to depict early summer sunlight.
Painting in monochrome is like making a map to get clues for light values.  

Another chrysanthemum painting. I already have a blueprint of the finished work, but it usually does not end up as I see in my mind.

It is very hot and humid in Japan in this time of the year, as usual.
In addition, Japanese government is appealing for people to save electricity throughout the nation since we may be running out of power in midsummer this year due to the series of accidents of nuclear power plant in Fukushima, which has not been blown over yet.
Therefore, as many Japanese do, no wonder that I volunteer to refrain from using air conditioner in my studio and at home as long as I can.    
In order to develop my physical strength not to suffer heat stroke, I went to badminton practice this morning and played for 2 and a half hours, then ended up with awful muscle aches here and there.

大阪での一連の展覧会も終了し、次に向けての制作を少しずつ進めています。
1つ目の写真は「天の滴」シリーズの予定、２つ目の写真は今年から始めた菊の作品の予定です。
日本全体が節電モードなので、私もできるだけクーラーをつけないで頑張っています。
とにかく体力を。。。と思い、バドミントンの練習に行っていますが、この暑さでは熱中症になりそうな勢い。。今日は練習試合が多く、体中が筋肉痛です。とほほ。
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fearless artist

I wonder if there is any artist who does not feel fear when painting or sculpting.
Art making forces artists to face him/herself. Artists show the way how they see the life and the world through their works. It is not easy task not only in technically, but mentally.
I think it is impossible that whole process until a painting is finished is full of joy.  Same as in life, some ( I will say, most, in my case ) part of creating process is continuity of challenging, regretting, or depressing. 
Nevertheless, in front of work in process, artist have to find the way to get through, make it work.
Nothing in art making process can be done automatically; Artist are required to think, choose and execute. I think it is the best as much as worst part of art making.

In Japanese, there is a quote to be successful, "Un, Don, Kon".
Un means luck, Don means obtuseness, and Kon means persistence. No one will disagree that  luck and persistence are requisite factors for success, but how about obtuseness?
Here Don can be interpreted as a character to be foolishly honest and to devote oneself to one's responsibility and it also suggests that such nature can not be acquired by those who are too smart or too sensitive as always care about the situation around them.
Do you think that you are Don ?
Me? I am trying to be more Don and Kon, hoping to get more Un!

I bought it!

"The Rose of Versailles" is one of the most famous classic manga in Japan.
Japan Post Service has published commemorative stamp sheet featuring the manga.

As one of a big fan who was crazy about reading the comic when schoolgirl , I could not leave post office without buying a sheet.

top right: Oscar, down right: Marie Antoinette

Oscar,  who is actually a woman, was raised as a man by her father who expected a boy and succeeding his will, she had devoted herself to bodyguard Marie Antoinette, a queen of France.
But Oscar, witnessing misery of poor citizens, gradually cooperates and fights with them against the king and queen and arrogant aristocracy. Oscar, Antoinette, and their lovers are swallowed by the wave of French Revolution.....

This comic was created by Riyoko Ikeda in 1970's and made big boom in Japan. Many girls felt in love with Oscar and I was not a exception. After coming from school, I used to copy the portraits of every character and painted them with water color. Then I started to create my original manga stories. I regret that I lost all papers on which I draw them. Probably they were the first break which lead me to becoming to artist.

郵便局で「ベルばら」の記念切手を売っていたので、ついつい買ってしまいました。
子供の頃、熱狂的にむさぼり読んだ覚えがあります。
読むだけでは飽きたらず、オスカルやアントワネットの絵をマネして描いたりしました。
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Another Show at Osaka

Following to one person show, my work are now showcased at group show by Spectrum Gallery, Osaka through June 21.

 

Architects, interior coordinator, and art consultants are invited to the show, but collectors are also very welcomed. Please contact the gallery for details.
Phone: 06-6710-4648


Gallery's Website
Map

個展に引き続き、スペクトラムギャラリーで作品を展示いたします。
今回はインテリア向きの作品を集めたグループ展です。
どうぞご高覧ください。
6月21日まで
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My Show at Osaka

Here I want to share my new works at the show in Osaka.

"Chrysanthemum" series are that of my new paintings in which I intended to include something Japanese.

upper left: Drops From Heaven III, bottom left: Sky III, right: Chrysanthemum I

top: Chrysanthemum II, down: Chrysanthemum III

from left: Flowers, Light Of Joy, Drops From Heaven I, After The Rain

small oil pastels

The show is another week to go. I would love to meet you there.

Detailed Post for The Show
Gallery's Website
Map
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One Person Show

I will be going to Osaka from tomorrow for my one person show.
It will be wonderful to meet you there.

Detailed Post for The Show
Gallery's Website
Map
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明日から大阪での個展が始まります。どうぞお越しください。
詳しくは、上記リンクをクリックしてください。

Finally.....

Completed my chrysanthemum painting!

Title: Chrysanthemum 1
Medium: oil on canvas
Size: 61cm x 61cm (24" x 24")

As you may read from my previous posts, this one took a long time.
The hardest part was to choose the right color for the background.
I tested many colors and just before a week before sending my work to the gallery for my one person show, I got satisfied with the colors of whitish blue-gray and whitish peach-gray; I am sorry that it is difficult to reproduce the actual subtle colors  on PC. I hope that you will visit my show at Osaka starting on this Friday.

Show Announcement and Gallery Map

This painting is the first one from my new chrysanthemum pieces. (It is finished third, though...)
I started this series of painting with my feeling to Japan and its people, hoping to deeply explore who/what I am, since the flower of chrysanthemum is of representative of my country.
Three paintings from the series will be showcased in my show.

新しい菊シリーズの作品がようやく完成しました。
震災等、色々な出来事が起こる中で
日本を意識した作品を描きたいと思い取り組んでみました。
個展では菊の作品は３点展示予定です。


  

Announcement of One Person Show

I am pleased to announce that my one person show will be held at 

Spectrum Gallery in Osaka from May 26- June 7. 

The show will include recent oil paintings and pastels.

 The picture is from my new chrysanthemum painting series.

 Spectrum Gallery

Gallery hours: 12:00 - 19:00 Mon-Sat.

12:00 - 17:00 Sun. and final day

closed on Wed.

2nd Fl. Sou Building

1-6-2 Kawaramachi, Chuo-ku, Osaka

phone: 06-6710-4648

*Take Tanimachi Subway from Osaka and get off at Tanimachi-6 Sta.

Go out exit 4 and walk down "Karahori Shouten-Gai". 
Turn left at the corner of Supermarket Tamade.

I will be at the gallery on Sat. and Sun.

I am happy to meet you!

website of spectrum gallery

個展のお知らせ

スペクトラムギャラリー

(大阪市中央区瓦屋町1-6-2　惣2階）

06-6710-4648
月曜～土曜12:00～19:00、日曜・最終日12:00～17:00　
土・日は在廊しています。

交通：地下鉄谷町線谷町6丁目下車4番出口　

空堀商店街をスーパー玉出の角で曲がる
どうぞお越しください。

quote for artist

While still struggling with painting chrysanthemum (I am about to forget the spelling of "chrysanthemum" due to long absence from writing!), I am reading art related books.

Here is quote of the day.

"The first few brushstrokes to the blank canvas satisfy the requirements of many possible paintings, while the last few fit only that painting - they could go nowhere else."  -David Bayles & Ted Orland. Art&Fear

SOS from a Japanese city close to nuclear power plant

An Artist's Confession

I am in stuck.
My chrysanthemum painting is not going well.
I think I have tried many colors and touches, but nothing seems right.
Cannot see the blueprint of the finished work.

When my painting is clogging up, I regret that I am a painter.
I do not know why I chose such a profession.
Maybe I should have quit and given up somewhere in my life; when I started to work as a graphic designer after college, or when I came home from three years art study in the U.S. or when I started my second job for my living, or when I married. Sigh...I could have make any excuses to quit.
Why do I continue to paint? I do not know, but this is the only thing that I continued in my life. But it is not enough reason.
Do I like to paint in the first place? Yes and No. When I can paint well, I like to paint, and if somebody buys it, I am in bliss. I feel my identity is truly an artist, nothing else. But when my painting is poor after many trials, I feel that I wasted my time and lose the meaning what I am doing.


One month passed since the earthquake and tsunami hit my country.
Aftershocks are still happening in east Japan and number of people are working at nuclear power plant at risk of their lives.
We are looking for hope.

Chrysanthemum1 -working process 2

I have been working on the chrysanthemum painting for two weeks. I am expecting two one person shows in this year and it is for the one which comes first in Osaka.

Started working on the upper left section and bottom right section, which are supposed to have the same atmosphere but different brush touch and mood from other two sections.

Working details of flower and background.

I got in the middle phase of whole painting process. (I Hope!)
To be honest, I do not like this part of time;
Painting without any concrete idea on color or composition is like you lost in the maze.
It takes sometimes weeks until I get out from the maze. I believe that painting itself knows the right answer but it does not tell me that so easy.
It is like a waiting game between the painting and I.
I feel like I am tested by my own painting.

Seems a good color combination, but the background colors might be too similar.
I may want to change it later.
In any case, it is still far from the happy ending. Sigh.....

Chrysanthemum1 -working process 1

I have started working on  a new painting series based on the imagery of chrysanthemum, while listening to the radio for the quake and its survivers.

Chrysanthemum is not my favorite flower,since it is low-key and inconspicuous, but it is symbolic one for Japanese.

First, I made a sketch and traced it down on a white canvas.

Then I start to paint with white and black (actually low umber) to make light and shadow based on my sketch and photo I made for this painting.
This phase is usually called Grisaille, which means to paint in monochrome.

1/4 of first stage is almost done. I think this is fun part of whole painting process; Although I have to be careful about subtle change in light and shadow, this process reminds me of painting by numbers.

 Working on the second section.

In this painting, I divided the canvas space into 4 sections. I want to depict each section in slightly different taste but make it still look like one chrysanthemum flower.
This is my first trial to make a painting this way. I might give up but hope it will work. 
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My Auction 2 -Japan Quake Appeal

This is my second auction item for Japan Quake Appeal.

title: Morning Glory
medium: waterbased woodblock print on white Japanese paper
paper size: 31cm x 31cm (apprx. 12 1/4" x 12 1/4")
image size: 23 cm diameter (apprx. 9" diameter)
This is hand-pulled original woodblock print, not a digital print.
It is signed by the artist (me!) as artist proof and will be shipped in a mailing tube.
Frame is not included.

How this auction works:

1. Bidding will start at U.S.$20.

2. You can place a bid by leaving a comment on this blog post with your bid amount. Please make sure that your bid is higher than the previous bidder. You must also leave a valid email address, you can write the address in the format of mymailname‘at’hotmail dot’com.

3. Your bid must be in whole dollar increments.

4. This auction is open to everyone. Shipping cost is FREE. I will send the item in a mailing tube and pay the international postage.

5. The auction begins NOW and will END at 17:00 Japan time on Saturday 26th March 2011 (which is 1:00 in California, 4:00 in NY, 8:00 in London, 18:00 in Sydney and 12:00 in Dubai, each on the same day).

6. At the close of the auction, I will contact the winner (please make sure your bid comment includes your email address). The winner will pay the winning amount directly into Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund at the Global Giving and send me proof of payment via email within 48 hours. If proof of payment is not made within 48 hours, then the item will go to the second highest bidder. Once proof of payment has been confirmed, I will send my item to you.

note:
-If you make a mistake or forget to add you email address please delete the first post and re-write it.

-You can make the donation either in dollar or pound, but if you do so in pound, it must be the equivalent value as the winning dollar bid.

Myself or any other of the auction/raffles raising money for this appeal are in no way affiliated with Global Giving, that's just our chosen method of getting funds safely to the affected area.

I am doing this auction not only for raising fund, but also for thanking to the people who will donate their money and for keeping people's attention to what happened in my country. 

I am auctioning two items and another one is here.

If this isn't to your taste, click here to check out the list of everyone elses auctions.
 (List of bloggers who will auction on their blogs are available after March 18.)

For more detailed information about this charity, you can read Jo's blog who is organizing this donation scheme.

Happy Bidding!
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My Auction 1 -Japan Quake Appeal

This is just a little help I can do as a Japanese artist for my country and people.
As I mentioned yesterday, here is my auction.

title: A Village Scene
medium: waterbased woodblock print on white Japanese paper
paper size: 31cm x 31cm (apprx. 12 1/4" x 12 1/4")
image size: 23 cm diameter (apprx. 9" diameter)
This is hand-pulled original woodblock print, not a digital print.
It is signed by the artist (me!) as artist proof and will be shipped in a mailing tube.
Frame is not included.

How this auction works:

1. Bidding will start at U.S.$20.

2. You can place a bid by leaving a comment on this blog post with your bid amount. Please make sure that your bid is higher than the previous bidder. You must also leave a valid email address, you can write the address in the format of mymailname‘at’hotmail dot’com.

3. Your bid must be in whole dollar increments.

4. This auction is open to everyone. Shipping cost is FREE. I will send the item in a mailing tube and pay the international postage.

5. The auction begins NOW and will END at 17:00 Japan time on Saturday 26th March 2011 (which is 1:00 in California, 4:00 in NY, 8:00 in London, 18:00 in Sydney and 12:00 in Dubai, each on the same day).

6. At the close of the auction, I will contact the winner (please make sure your bid comment includes your email address). The winner will pay the winning amount directly into Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund at the Global Giving and send me proof of payment via email within 48 hours. If proof of payment is not made within 48 hours, then the item will go to the second highest bidder. Once proof of payment has been confirmed, I will send my item to you.

note:
-If you make a mistake or forget to add you email address please delete the first post and re-write it.

-You can make the donation either in dollar or pound, but if you do so in pound, it must be the equivalent value as the winning dollar bid.

Myself or any other of the auction/raffles raising money for this appeal are in no way affiliated with Global Giving, that's just our chosen method of getting funds safely to the affected area.

I am doing this auction not only for raising fund, but also for thanking to the people who will donate their money and for keeping people's attention to what happened in my country. 

I am auctioning two items and another one is here.

If this isn't to your taste, click here to check out the list of everyone elses auctions.
 (List of bloggers who will auction on their blogs are available after March 18.)

For more detailed information about this charity, you can read Jo's blog who is organizing this donation scheme.

Happy Bidding!