Art, Design, Words, Thoughts
Japanese Caterpillar – Can I cuddle it?
I went out to my car yesterday morning and found about 20 of these cute little guys climbing all over it. Adorable, yes, but someone told me they’re poisonous. Does anyone know what it is and can you confirm or deny if I should be worried?
Stetch of NYC station entrance caught in light.
Did this sketch a little while ago and I think it fits well with this week’s IF topic “Urban.”
Just a quick redesign to the website. I’ve been meaning to do it for months, but finally got around to it. I still have a bit more do, a few things that aren’t quite right, a better layout for the gallery, and that text on the home page needs to be better, but it’s on the way. What do you think?
New Year at Hozanji – Nara, Japan
The smoke of incense fills the air like a dense fog as people climb the steps to enter the main temple grounds. To the left, a group of people pray at a small altar on the way.
Happy New Year, Everyone! I hope 2013 finds you happy and healthy and feeling fresh and new. I’m looking forward to great things happening this year. Not exactly sure what they are yet, but not knowing is half the fun, right?
The Girl with a Pearl Earring – Vermeer, 1665
A number of works from the Mauritshuis Museum in the Netherlands are currently on loan at the Kobe Museum here in Japan, so we went over to browse yesterday. I mainly wanted to see the Rembrandt and Rubens works. To be honest, I thought the Vermeer would be more of a nice distraction, but not the main attraction for me personally (although it obviously was for most people). But I had never seen The Girl with a Pearl Earring before. Not up close and in person. There was something completely different about seeing the original. The moment I walked into the room and her glance caught me from a distance (because she was obviously staring at me), I choked up. Her offhanded gaze and frozen-in-the-moment pose caught me completely unprepared. I was really amazed at my own reaction. There was a long queue to get up close and see her, and by the time I was in front, I was completely entranced. I went back and waited in the queue again.
I bought this amazing Miffy recreation at the gift shop. It doesn’t have quite the emotional impact of the original. Well, not the same emotion, at least. Even though everyone loves Miffy, right?
Miffy with a Pearl Earring
Took a break and a photo.
Nara in Fall, 2012
Happy Thanksgiving to all of my American family and friends. Well, and everyone else, too, of course! I hope it was a great day filled with feasting, fun, and good old fashioned hearthy togetherness.
The weather here wasn’t so good; it drizzled on and off and was overcast. So instead of going somewhere to paint I stood out on our covered balcony and just sketched the mountain. It was a nice, relaxing time despite the weather. I played some jazz softly in the background and thought about the many things I have to be thankful for, and yet so often take for granted. I am a very fortunate man.
Happy Holidays, Everyone.
I’m having a half-price sale until December 5th on my watercolor sketches over at my Etsy store. I was going to make it a little longer, but I don’t want to ship things too close to Christmas and leave anyone in the lurch. If you’re interested, head on over HERE and use coupon code Winter2012CP.
Linky: CP Sketches and Studies on Etsy
This is my favorite time of the year. It reminds me of home and family and places I haven’t seen in many years. Here in Japan, I love the changing colors and the crispness to the air. We don’t usually get much snow, but every year I hope to see a little. Sometimes it comes.
Looking down from my balcony in Nara at the cable cars in the snow. We saw a little in 2011.
The Gion section of Kyoto in the rain.
I was playing with this idea for a while, and since IF’s topic is water this week, I thought I’d give it a shot. The first time I came to Japan, I spent a number of days in beautiful Kyoto City. The Gion district, famous for the Geisha houses and Geisha school, is both traditional and mysterious. I was fortunate enough to stay in a ryokan along this street.
13.25 x 9.5 inches. Watercolor on Arches Aquarelle paper.
I had the day off from work today. Always a good thing. Beautiful weather, so I did a couple sketches in the area. This one turned out okay…
The Chuo Line, Osaka, Japan
But another got kinda sloppy…
Ikoma City, Nara
I also found a couple pieces in a sketchbook from a while ago I liked, so I threw them up on my Etsy store, along with the Chuo Line above.
The lagoon at Disney Sea, Tokyo.
The Great Wall of China, Beijing.
Yesterday and stopped by the Ghibli store. Definitely one of my favorite places in the world. Here’s some of the kickin’ swag I bought.
Ghibli Swag.
Engraved miso soup bowls.
Mini-Totoros and Makkuro Kurosuke on bamboo wrapped acorns.
I could spend a lot of money there if left to my own devices. Luckily, I was not left to my own devices. I do love me some Ghibli, though. Who/what is your favorite Ghibli character? Mine, of course, is Totoro. We bear a striking resemblance.
You crack me up with that pillow, Chief!
Hi Everyone! It’s been a while since I’ve been doing much online other than the occasional Facebook post, so I’m happy to have this brand-spankin’-new site up and running. It’s still a bit rough around the edges, but I like the way it’s coming together. I hope you will, too.
I always seem to start out guns blazing with my blogs and then it kind of fizzles out. I’d rather be painting or writing! But I’m starting down some new paths and I thought it would be a lot of fun to document them here. Let’s see what happens. I hope you’ll join me.
And to kick things off, how about a cut-paper and watercolor picture I did some time ago of Mr. McMurphy and The Chief from One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Why, you ask? Because I’m feeling a little woohooooo myself.