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Mission Bay (SD100-14)

It is well known that works of Japanese ukiyo-e print artists influenced great masters like Van Gogh and Monet.  Ando Hiroshige was one such artist.

Long after his death, his works have continued to impress numerous artists and collectors alike, and I am one of them who marvel at his talent as a landscape artist.  I have this book on One Hundred Views of Edo, Hiroshige's series of prints depicting scenes of Edo (now Tokyo).  Looking at 100 different urban landscapes and scenes of natural beauty of the 19th-century Tokyo makes me feel like I am living among them.

Horoshige epitomizes a kind of artist I want to be.  Not only his colors are brilliant but design ideas are phenomenal.  Composition in some of his prints just blows my mind.  In fact, looking at works like his gives me courage to try something new and bold in my landscape paintings.  But most importantly, his ability to express deep emotions is what attracts me most.  Mikhail Uspensky, art historian, said, "Hiroshige not only depicted a locality, but also strove to convey its dominant emotion, the mood of nature.  Hiroshige is first and foremost a lyrical artist."

As I told my newsletter readers, I was inspired by Hiroshige's 100 Views of Edo when I started San Diego 100 project.  I have been blogging about it in the last week or so as I create 100 landscape paintings of San Diego, California, in the hopes of communicating my emotional involvement with the city I call home in the last 15 years.

Today's painting is Sunset Point, the same location in the Mission Bay Park as San Diego 100 (#13) that I posed yesterday.


San Diego 100 (#14) - Mission Bay

A larger image of this painting is available on request.

Media: original watercolor
Image Size: 8.25 x 11.5 in. (on 9 x 12 in. paper)
Mat/Frame: No
Purchase: Please send me an email for availability.