“Daydream” – Landscape from My Imagination

日本語 This was my first attempt to paint a landscape from my imagination. I usually painted landscapes which I saw before using a reference photo or I simply painted landscapes on location. This time, however, the idea to paint tulips like a beautiful pattern came first and then I started brainstorming how I can paint tulips like that. I looked at some tulip photos…

Dandelions on the Sidewalk in Camden, Maine

  日本語 This was my first attempt to paint dandelions. I found these dandelions on the sidewalk of the shopping street in Camden, Maine in last May. I was spending a holiday weekend in Camden with my family and it was still a little bit chilly there. When I was walking along the street, these dandelions caught my attention right away. They were bigger…

Wisteria

  日本語 I just felt like painting another Japanese flowers. Wisteria can be typically seen in larger parks in Japan. When I was a child, I liked walking under a wisteria trellis to smell the sweet flower fragrance. It was a little more work than I thought to paint these flowers. I had to paint many layers of colors to depict the texture of…

Art as a Therapy – Beyond the Sorrow

  日本語 It is finally spring. For me, it is time to get ready for spring art shows. I usually enter something that fits the season of the art show. In Japan, cherry blossoms are the first thing that comes to people’s mind when they think of spring.  At this time of the year I always remember and long for the beauty of cherry…

Remembering my 2010 Kyushu Trip

日本語 Kyushu was hit by record rainfall this summer! I watched the recent news on the heavy rain in mid July, which brought　back memories of my trip there in 2010. Kyushu is not part of “Honshu ( the mainland of Japan)”, but the largest Japanese southern island. The nature there looks very unique, compared to other parts of Japan. There are a number of…

“Summer Garden” Plein Air or Studio Painting?

日本語 How are you enjoying summer? It is a prime time for Plein Air painters. I started painting landscapes with an art teacher who was a Plein Air painter, so this style used to be my primary style.  Even though I still believe that Plein Air painting is the best way to express direct response to the scene you see right in front of you,…