Keiko Tanabe - Blog: Figures

Repetitio Est Mater Studiorum

8/19/2018 4:50:18 PM

Repetitio est mater studiorum" (Repetition is the mother of learning). I work hard when I'm serious about learning something new but I don't know if learning by repetition is the best way for me. I'm a kind of person who doesn't like reading manuals so I just start playing with a newly purchased product and figure out how to make it work (well, sometimes, never). I like to just dive in and learn by doing instead of reading or taking notes or even seeing how things are done beforehand. It may be natural for a person like me to get bored with the [...]

Journey Home 2017

12/13/2017 11:32:46 PM

I couldn't believe my eyes when I picked up newspaper on the first morning at my mother's, whom I visited after a year, in Kyoto, Japan last month. My father, a scholar of French literature and philosophy, deceased ten years ago, was mentioned in the front-page column. It was with the quote of Simone Weil, a French philosopher whose work my father translated into Japanese, about factory workers she chose to work with after quitting her teaching job: "The temptation to give up thinking altogether is the most difficult one to resist:one feels so clearly that it is the only way [...]

How I Use W&N Watercolor Markers

4/22/2016 1:47:24 AM

I am primarily a landscape painter but often what I try to capture is little slices and fleeting moments of life. When it's the case, the landscape sets the stage for "little" figures I put in my painting. I think these figures help create a wonderful story, and I like telling the story through their movements and body language. Needless to say, it depends on how closely or remotely I use the landscape as a backdrop for the figures, but most of the time, the size of these people must be depicted proportionately small in a painting. So they may be [...]

Venice Without a Mask

1/28/2016 2:23:39 AM

Every winter Venice celebrates its famous Carnival (Carnevale di Venezia). I was fortunate enough to be there this year while doing work in and around the city. During the festivities, you see some people walking on the street wearing masks, elaborate gowns and beautiful dresses from the old times. There are events, balls and banquets to attend. It’s one of those times when Venice really shines with its glamour and splendor. The whole atmosphere feels almost unreal when this city shows its magical side. When I travel, I like getting to know people who live there. For a short “living like a [...]

Quick studies made even quicker with W&N markers

10/22/2015 6:56:54 PM

It is a huge honor that I was named a brand ambassador by Winsor & Newton earlier this year. One of their products that I have become particularly fond of is their watercolor markers. Colors so vibrant and of fine quality are a pure joy to play with. I have also found its versatility incredible, and its portability hard not to love, especially for a constant traveler like myself. Being an avid plein-air painter, I prefer setting up on site to do even sketches with paints and brushes. There is no problem in most cases as my landscapes subject doesn't move and [...]

Alfredo Guati Rojo

8/29/2015 2:23:49 PM

Acuarela Arte antiguo ... Arte nuevo Forma ancestral de unir el color de la tierra o de las flores con el sagrado liquido que ayer era rio o nube. Arco iris prisionero que la mano del hombre ha de liberar. - Alfredo Guati Rojo Alfredo Guati Rojo Cárdenas (1998-2003), a Mexican artist, played a major role in founding the National Museum of Watercolor (Museo Nacional de la Acuarela Alfredo Guati Rojo) in Mexico City, which is named after him. When the medium of watercolor was not regarded as comparable to other techniques, Guati Rojo worked hard to promote the reputation of watercolor as a true form of [...]

NAWA Returns to Mexico City

12/6/2014 7:21:00 PM

I am delighted to announce, as a member of the North American Watercolor Artists (NAWA), that the NAWA will participate in the XI Bienal Internacional de la Acuarela in Mexico City. This is our third time to join this exhibition as a group. The show takes place at the prestigious Museo Nacional de Acuarela Alfredo Guati Rojo. It's divided into two parts: The first part begins on December 7 and runs until January 4, 2015. The second part is from January 11 till February 8. The NAWA was founded in 2010 by 6 contemporary watermedia artists currently working in the United States: [...]

Judging the San Diego Watercolor Society Member Show

2/16/2014 10:57:24 PM

I was honored to serve as a juror for the February Member Exhibition of the San Diego Watercolor Society, "Light and Delight." So many beautiful entries did not make it easy for me to choose less than half of what was submitted. Bravo to all who got in the show and congratulations to award-winners! The SDWS created a wonderful poster for the show with my painting Flamenco Dancer III. If you are in the San Diego area, be sure to visit their gallery to see the show (runs until February 28). - Join me on Facebook and follow my blog on NetworkedBlogs. - Follow me [...]

Painting Figures

11/16/2013 1:13:31 AM

Being primarily a landscape painter, I have treated figures mostly as a small element in a landscape or a cityscape. Figures not only add more interest but also create a certain appeal that tells a story in a scene. I love putting them in my work and thinking about the role they can play in a painting. In the last year or so, I have been practicing figures as a main painting subject rather seriously. As a subject matter, it seemed so different from landcapes and I was a bit lost in the beginning, but I immediately found myself really enjoying doing [...]