Sunday, February 24, 2013

Kiyosumi Garden (oil, 16"x20")

I loved my visit to Kiyosumi Garden in Tokyo in 2011. This garden has a interesting story. It's peaceful and calming in the midst of hyper-active Tokyo. I was there in the fall when the maples were just into their turning. The leaves are a rusty red, really a green-red composite. Beautiful! I feel I've captured a peaceful scene and I'll leave it to dry before deciding whether or not to tweak it. Blessings!

 

Friday, February 22, 2013

Winter Plowing (oil, 6"x6")

Playing around on a little square canvas today and found this guy frolicking in the snow. Enjoy!

 

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Mount Fuji (oil, 8"x10")

I got back to painting some of my views from Japan today. It was fun. This view is half my photo reference and half imagination... This viewpoint over Lake Ashi was rather dull in the foreground of my photo. So, I added a spring foreground of blossoms. Oil is just so much fun to paint with! Cheers!

 

 

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Brave another way...

I did some experimental "playing" this week, pouring acrylic on canvass and literally watching it dry. Wow, the pigment can take quite a trip across the canvass. the colours move, blend, and displace each other, depending on the water content and the relative weight of the pigments. Anyway, I find it fascinating. The result of two painting sessions was this canvas...

 
This morning I put on some music and asked myself what this pretty coloured canvas wanted to be (okay, okay... I know that sounds crazy) immediately a quote from T.S. Eliot came to mind "Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go." So, I hand wrote another "risk" quote: "Be you, bravely", and painted the entire background. What remains is a colourful script.
Of my various attempts, I like this one the best. I have just a tad of puttering, and the sides to do before I call this one done. Cheers!

 

 

Sunday, February 3, 2013

Misty Matsushima (oil, 10"x10")

Today I spent half an hour puttering on Misty Matsushima again. In addition to adjusting the values in the island forms, I painted the lightest water and sky areas. Since the lightest values are very thin at this point, I may still go back in with thicker paint once this layer is dry. For a few days I will think it over.

Cheers!