Japan Moments: My Tatami Room 03/14/2011
 The earthquake and tsunami news in these recent days have brought back so many memories of my time in Japan and my thoughts are almost constantly of Japan. I lived in Japan for three and a half years, and painted this scene after I moved back to North America, partly from a sketch, mostly from memory. I lived in this hundred-year-old house in a part of Tokyo that survived the fires, survived the earthquakes, survived the bombings of World War II. I send all my comfort and support to my Japanese friends and colleagues whom I remember with great love. Add Comment Window Cuttings 03/09/2011
 This painting (oil on canvas, 12 x 16) shows some leaf cuttings in a window. What I like best about this piece are the translucense of the glass vases and the shininess of the shelf. I've always loved glass in front of a window, and these cuttings in a window caught my eye. The background is highly stylized, something I used to paint more frequently than now. Kitchen Window on French Street 03/04/2011
 This is one of the few paintings (oil on canvas 11 x 14) I've completed entirely from imagination instead of at least a rudimentary sketch of something I see. I painted this scene in an art workshop, and the instructor kept insisting that my style was naive, and that all the leaves needed to be the same. I disagreed with her. I like this painting because of the warm colors in the foreground, as well as the composition of their color blocks, contrasted to the cool-colored patterns in the background. I also love the fact that all the leaves are different! Ugly Colors 02/25/2011
 If you look at my painting "House on French Street" (oil on canvas 18 x 24) and compare the percentage of "ugly" colors (dull greens, dirty taupes, funny-looking yellows) to "pretty" colors, you'll see approximately 65% ugly colors and 35% pretty colors. Most of the colors in this painting decorators wouldn't use in their decor and clothing designers wouldn't include in their designs. But in this painting, the dull colors make the bright colors glow because of the contrast they provide.  Shortly after beginning my Windows series, an art instructor called my style, "naif," and insisted that I paint my lines straight to conform to that style. As you can see, I didn't conform. My Backyard on French Street 07/09/2010
 I painted this in the Spring of 1997. Window views inspired me; I loved to view landscapes from the coziness of my own home. I had just painted the back entrance to my house in Vancouver and decorated it with some old pottery and spring bulbs. The results of a an afternoon painting and potting exceeded my expectations, so she quickly sketched and painted it. This painting became the second in my "Windows" series, which became my first show. Behind the trees in the background you would actually see the rear entrances and car parks for businesses on Granville street. I gleefully painted them out of her picture. This is one of my favorite paintings because I painted with complete abandon, following only my tuition for the harmony, the colours and the composition. This is your new blog post. Click here and start typing, or drag in elements from the top bar. Tatami Room 07/09/2010
 Continuing the Windows theme, I sketched and painted my bedroom window in Tokyo from memory. Despite rumours that Tokyo was crowded and apartments the size of bird cages, I had found an enormous, traditional Japanese house in Bunkyo-ku, almost directly in the center of the Yamanote Line that encircles Tokyo. In my garden grew a persimmon tree. Orchids bloomed in my room year round. My Japanese landlady, Mrs. Kashiwabara, lived in a separate apartment in the house. She would bring down special food for holidays. Before living in Tokyo, I never thought she would eat anything with eyes still in it. But, when my kind, 77-year old landlady who only spoke a few words of English, graciously offered me these holiday delicacies, somehow they become edible. | Art Blog
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