It's becoming more summery in Japan and with summer comes the hordes of insects of which I spent half the day combating. GET OUT OF MY HOUSE. Rainy season has not started yet...
I did this painting on a nice heavy brown paper. Other than that I haven't much to say about it. The title is "Creation".

"Creation" 63 x 97 cm. (25 x 38 inches) Crayon, Sumi ink, Pastel, Acrylic and Gouache on Japanese Paper.

Tags: painting,landscape,paper,mixed media,washi, japanese paper

Just finished this painting titled "Twilight Zone - He Walks Away". It is painted on a gold washi paper. This paper was like painting on material. I originally was going to title this just "He Walks Away" but it reminded me so much of the old Twlight Zone television show. I've also been listening to my Amy Winehouse album "Back To Black" and in the song "Tears Dry On Their Own" she sings; he walks away, the sun goes down, he takes the day but I'm gone. And in your way in this blue shade my tears dry on their own. So we are history, your shadow covers me, The sky above, a blaze that only lovers see... I love her music and that also influenced this image.

Twilight Zone - He Walks Away 63 x 91 cm. (25 x 36 inches) Sumi ink, Gouache, Acrylic and Oil Pastel on gold Washi.

Tags: painting,landscape,paper,mixed media,washi, twilight

From the Peony I took a picture of in my garden I painted this yesterday. I read that the Peony is China's national flower. It is the symbol of good fortune, high honor and the spring season... all good things. As an erotic symbol it symbolizes the female genitalia. When dew, representing semen, drops on a peony flower it opens... REALLY! Well, that produced all kinds of images in my head. I painted on an orange colored washi paper I've had laying around the house for years. When I was younger I hated the color orange but I like it now, it's a powerful color to work with. In the style of American modernists Georgia O'Keefe and Arthur Dove who also used nature as sexual symbolism, for me this symbolizes the female life force.

Peony Opening 96 x 66 cm (38 x 26 inches) Sumi ink, Gouache and Acrylic on Orange Washi

Tags: peony,flower,japan,painting,washi

Only one flower on my Peony this year but it's hugh!

Tags: peony,flower,japan

I finished a painting this morning titled "Walking In Between Sunrise And Sunset". The title comes from the song "Living In Twilight" by The Weepies. I listen to their CD whenever I'm in my car, it reminds me of my daughter.
This painting is about the time my daughter went to the US to go to high school. I returned to Japan because I wasn't sure she would like high school there and I thought I should take care of everything in Japan just in case she returned. Not long after I returned I became sick and was in a lot of pain. I was happy at times my daughter was not there to see me like that and I couldn't have done anything to take care of her (If you've ever been in pain all you can think about is getting rid it). I fought to recover my health by the time my daughter returned for her summer vacation. That summer my daughter's favorite album was The Weepies' which we listened to often in the car.
If you look closely there is a mother and child standing in the landscape. I did wonder when I was laying in bed if I would ever recover and be able to take walks or enjoy life again. The days passed by blending into each other, the sun would rise and set and slowly I recovered.
I think of this as my daughter and I walking in between two countries also, Japan and the US. I am currently in Japan and my daughter is going to university in the US now. I wish there was a way we could magically meet somewhere in between.

Walking In Between Sunrise And Sunset 97 x 66 cm. (38 x 26 inches) Sumi ink, Gouache, Acrylic, Crayon and Pastels on Indigo Washi

This painting is painted on an Indigo colored Japanese paper. This is a close up.

Tags: painting,landscape,paper,mixed media,mt. fuji,washi

My little dog Emma in the garden. We spend our days together.

Tags: spring,flowers,corgi

Beautiful day today so I went to the Yamanashi Museum Of Art and had a little picnic. There is an impressive sculpture by Maasaki Sato who is from Yamanashi called Big Apple.
There are 365 holes for 365 days in a year, Mr. Sato has said that they represent everyday communication.

It really stands out in the landscape, Mt. Fuji is in the background.

Tags: yamanashi,museum,art,sculpture,big apple,mt.fuji,maasaki sato

Yesterday I finished a new painting which was done on an indigo colored Japanese paper. Indigo is an important color in cotton fabric dyeing in Japan and traditional folk arts which is where I got the idea for this painting. It is a rather stylized composition of a landscape. I was thinking of moonlight reflected on water and also the rock gardens I saw in Kyoto. I like to think it has a Zennnnn feeling. Titled Enlightenment.

"Enlightenment" 92 x 63 cm. (36 x 25 inches) Sumi ink, Gouache, Acrylic and Pastels on Indigo Washi.

Tags: painting,landscape,paper,mixed media,sea,washi,rock garden

I'm very excited about the exhibit that is being planned in London this coming September. You can see the venue and read all the details on the site gihonrivercollective.com .

The Gihon River Collective is a group of artist and writers that I had a residency with at the Vermont Studio Center in Johnson Vermont last September and this is where the title of our exhibit comes from COPY0909. Our opening in London is September 09, 2010 one year from the time of our residency.

I'm especially happy that I will be able to meet the friends I made at the Vermont Studio Center and exhibiting with them is a dream for me. We will also have some of the guest artists who came to the center to give talks and advice exhibit with us.

I hope in 2011 I will be able to help bring the exhibit to Japan.

Tags: gihon river collective,exhibit,london,vermont studio center,COPY0909

Here's a painting just for fun I completed today. I've been doing all of these painting with swirly circular shapes and was thinking about where we find this shape in nature. This is a coiled snake with it's mouth open. Can you see it? I painted this on a very light, transparent white Washi paper. I was surprised that the paper took the paint quite well and is much stronger than it looks. We sometimes get very big snakes that come down from the mountains in my neighborhood.

Snake Bite 66 x 96 cm. (26 x 38 inches) Sumi ink, Gouache, Acrylic and Pastels on Washi (Japanese paper).

Tags: painting,paper,mixed media,snake,washi

Landscape painting of Mt. Fuji completed today. Mt. Fuji often has these saucer like clouds around the summit. I've seen hundreds of Mt. Fuji paintings in Japan, if fact there's a museum in a city at the base of Mt. Fuji that is dedicated to art work of Fuji-san. It's interesting to see each artist's interpretation. It isn't important to be realistic, Mt. Fuji is a powerful symbol. The title is Moment of Truth because in the last week I had such a moment which caused a bit of chaos but truth is power don't you think?


Moment Of Truth 93 x 64 cm. (37 x 25 inches) Sumi ink, Gouache, Acrylic and Pastels on Washi (Japanese paper).


A few pictures I got off the internet to show you what I'm talking about.

Tags: painting,landscape,paper,mixed media,mt. fuji,washi

This is another version of the koi paintings I did at the Vermont Studio Center. I start to feel hypnotized when I'm looking at this.

Memory Pond 64 x 93 cm. (25 x 37 inches) Sumi ink, Gouache, Acrylic and Pastels on Washi (Japanese paper).

Tags: painting,paper,mixed media,koi,carp,pond,washi

This painting is a portrait of the fictional character Countess Olenska from the novel "Age Of Innocence". The figure in the background is me. It is a self-portrait. I identify with the Countess, an American who lived abroad and married a foreigner, her attempts at returning to America, her marriage, family and wanting to just find a place to fit in.

Countess Olenska and Me (Self-Portrait) 91 x 61 cm. (36 x 24 inches) Acrylic, Sumi ink, Gouache and Pastels on Washi (Japanese Paper).

Tags: age of innocence,countess olenski,painting,mixed media,washi,josianne ishikawa

I finished the last in a series of landscape paintings on paper that I've been working on. I used sumi ink, acrylic, gouache and pastels. To see them in my painting gallery click HERE

"Earth Moving" 100 x 64 cm. ( 39x24 inches) Sumi ink, Acrylic, Gouache and Pastels on Japanese Paper.

Tags: painting,landscape,paper,mixed media

April in Japan, what a beautiful time to be here. These pictures are the remains of a castle of a famous shogun where I live.





I love cherry blossom flavored treats. My afternoon snack, cherry blossom cakes.

Tags: cherry blossoms,japan

Finished another painting on Japanese handmade paper. Because the paper is so beautiful I think of it as another medium instead of just a base to paint on and want it to show through in the painting. There are actually many layers of paint on the paper which is hard to see in a photo. I've also used metallic paints so depending on the light and where you stand the painting will change. Click here to see in my painting gallery HERE.


"Climax" 62 x 100 cm. (24 x 39 inches) Sumi ink, Gouache, Acrylic and Pastels on Japanese Paper.

Tags: painting,landscape,paper,mixed media

"Explosion (Fuji)" 100 x 62 cm. (39 x 24 inches) Sumi ink, Gouache, Acrylic and Pastels on Japanese Paper.

Tags: painting,landscape,paper,mixed media

I finally started painting again. I'm doing a series of paintings on handmade Japanese papers. The paper is delicate so I'm painting simple compositions using a variety of media. On this painting I used acrylic, gouache, pastels and sumi ink. I'm starting with landscapes. This is a sight I'm very familiar with here... fireworks over mountains and water.

"Fireworks" 100 x 62 cm. (39 x 24 inches) Sumi ink, Gouache, Acrylic and Pastels on Japanese Paper.

Tags: painting,landscape,paper,mixed media

This is cherry blossom week. The cherry blossoms are blooming about 6 days earlier this year because of the mild winter but as is often the case unfortunately, the weather is cold and windy this week so it's difficult to do cherry blossom viewing. People traditionally like to have picnics, when the weather is nice, under the trees and another tradition is to get roaring drunk. We usually have a couple of cases of alcohol poisoning at this time. Something they fail to mention in the travel guides.





Took my dog Emma with me to view the cherry blossoms.

Tags: cherry blossoms,japan

February 24th, It's the beginning of spring in Japan when the Plum Blossoms bloom.

Emma and I go to view the Plum Blossom trees.

Tags: plum blossoms, japan, spring