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Too Sensitive? Yes, That's A Good Thing!

1/24/2017 11:53:10 PM

Dear artists, have you ever been told that you are too sensitive? How about "Lighten up," "Don't take it too seriously," or "Oh, you're overreacting"? When this happens in a daily conversation, how do you feel? If you feel hurt, you're not alone. I have been told all these on a number of occasions. Even a seemingly innocent, lighthearted remark such as "Just kidding" is not really innocent because whoever said it knows that they said something not so kind, rude or hurtful to you. That's why they have to say it to try to make you believe what they said [...]

No Place Like Home

12/31/2015 10:34:27 PM

I spent numerous weeks on the road throughout 2015, teaching dozens of workshops and doing exhibitions in different cities and countries. In fact I traveled so frequently and constantly I have lost track of how many weeks I was away from my house in California the past year. To no one's surprise, I found myself traveling at the end of the year but this time I carried no portofolio, no heavy paper pads or a bag full of paints or any kind of equipment I usually tote around for my business-related trips. With just a few changes of clothes in a small [...]

Shirakawa-go, Gifu X, Japanese Landscape Painting

12/22/2012 8:40:37 PM

It's been already a cold winter in Japan, but over Christmas, even more freezing temperatures are forecast. In Shirakawa-go, a village hidden deep in the mountains in Central Japan, the ground will soon be covered with an even thicker layer of snow and remain so until springtime.At the end of February, it may not be quite spring yet, but I am looking forward to visiting Japan. I am honored and privileged to hold a two-person watercolor exhibition with Mr. Kazuo Kasai, a respected Japanese watercolorist and owner of Yokohama Gajuku. Our exhibition will run from February 27 until March 5, at Gallery [...]

Shirakawa-go, Gifu IX, Japanese Landscape Painting

12/19/2012 10:16:07 AM

Exactly two years ago around this time, I went to a remote mountain village in Japan that I had always wanted to see. Shirakawa-go in Gifu Prefecture was on my mind for a long time and I couldn't believe my dream was about to come true when I was on my way there.The amazing and almost surreal experience from that visit prompted me to do several paintings and I also wrote a couple of blog posts about the village (go to my old post).Recently I met someone online who lives there. His photographs and posts on his facebook page (Shirakawa-go) show [...]

Winter Wonderland, Hokkaido I, Japanese Landscape Painting

12/16/2012 1:51:27 PM

If you choose Hokkaido, Japan's northernmost island, as a wintertime destination, you must be a winter sports enthusiast or have a very special reason to do so. For years I've been spoiled by the year-round mild climate in San Diego, making me a cold weather wimp, so it took me some courage to decide to visit Hokkaido in December. But my hesitation melted the second I saw a breathtaking view like the one in this painting. In fact, with or without snow, Hokkaido is beautiful and well known for its unspoiled nature, vast open land, exquisite food and wonderful people.I am [...]

White Lovers II, Japanese Landscape Painting

3/13/2012 6:31:07 AM

For many people, last month's Valentine's Day may be a thing of the past. However, in some Asian countries, the whole thing doesn't really end until March 14, which is called White Day. In Japan, for example, it is expected that you know the unwritten rules: if you're a man and received chocolate from a woman on February 14, you are supposed to reciprocate one month later by giving her something equally nice or better. I think it's safe to say the overall tone of this practice is fairly light-hearted, which is enjoyed more like a game by most people. Depicted in [...]

White Lovers, Japanese Landscape Painting

2/14/2012 4:15:27 AM

I remember all the excitement surrounding February 14 when I was growing up in Japan. On Valentine's Day, it was customary for girls to give chocolate to boys. So, for days (or perhaps for weeks, it seemed) before the big day, candy stores were packed with girls looking for a perfect box of chocolate for their someone special. But that was not the end. Men and boys who received a gift were supposed to give women something in return on March 14, which was called White Day. I wonder if this tradition still continues today? In today's painting is a couple walking [...]

Award at San Diego Watercolor Society 31st International Exhibition

8/10/2011 7:49:35 AM

I am very happy to learn that my painting "Road to Eiheiji Temple, Fukui, Japan IX" has been given by juror Carrie Burns Brown the Benbrook Family Award in the upcoming San Diego Watercolor Society 31st International Exhibition. It will be on view at the SDWS Gallery, San Diego, California, from October 1 through October 31. The opening reception will be held at the same venue on October 7, 5-9pm. This year there will also be a preview night on September 30, 5:30-8pm, for a chance to see the show before its official opening (limited to 250 tickets). The award ceremony will take place on the same evening. I look forward [...]

Shirakawa-go, Gifu IV, Japanese Landscape Painting

1/6/2011 3:17:02 AM

Many Japanese folktales I heard when I was little began with pretty much the same sentence: Mukashi mukashi arutokoroni ojii-san to obaa-san ga sundeimashita (Once upon a time there lived an old man and his wife...). They often lived by a mountain, near a river, or in a remote village and lived a very simple life in a traditional Japanese house. Although I have had chances to see many towns and villages in Japan throughout my life, none really matched the image of one conjured up in my mind from those folktales. I had never felt "this is it " until I [...]

Takayama, Gifu IV & V, Japanese Landscape Paintings

1/4/2011 2:41:51 AM

When I, as a child, first saw a tree caged in a pyramid-shaped structure made of ropes, I thought they were for Christmas decorations. Later I learned that it was a horticultural technique called yukitsuri (meaning "snow hanging") to protect tree branches from the weight of wet, heavy snow. The idea must have been invented out of necessity but it is simply a unique form of art by itself, especially to someone like me who grew up in a place where snow was rare. Recently when I visited a morning market in the town of Takayama, I saw yukitsuri already set up [...]

Kanazawa (Ono), Japan

12/29/2010 8:15:53 AM

Ono, a small village with a fishing port within the city of Kanazawa, was very quiet. In fact, there was not even a soul walking when we got there in the late afternoon. The chilly drizzle and freezing wind were enough to send even townspeople indoors, it seemed. With nobody to ask for directions, we started exploring the town anyway, but we knew getting around could not be difficult in a small place like this. So we first walked along the Ono River that flows into the Sea of Japan. Along the river bank, fishing boats that had been long back from [...]

Takayama, Gifu, Japan

12/26/2010 7:15:13 AM

Over the mountains and past small villages, getting to Takayama can be an enjoyable trip in and of itself. During winter months, thick snow can be seen on the ground, and the frigid temperature can often be expected. A fairly large town in the remote region in the northern part of Gifu Prefecture, Takayama welcomes visitors with its unique charm that has especially attracted those looking for the image of Old Japan. In all of these three paintings, everyday scenes in the old section of the town are depicted. The bright red bridge (Nakabashi) in the first painting, is one of the [...]

Shirakawa-go, Gifu, Japan

12/21/2010 11:48:58 PM

When I arrived in Shirakawa-go, snow had lightly blanketed the entire village. Starting now for several months, the area will be buried in deep snow, covering thick thatched roofs, rice fields, river banks and mountain forests that surround the village. Located along a valley in the very mountainous region of Gifu Prefecture in the central Japan, Shirakawa-go is known for its unique architectural style seen in many of their old farm houses. The style is called gassho-zukuri (gassho means "putting two hands together for praying," referring to the shape of the steep roofs; zukuri means construction style). While I was enjoying a quiet [...]

Road to Eiheiji Temple, Fukui, Japan

12/20/2010 2:59:53 AM

I've been on this road before and here I am once again on my way to Eiheiji Temple in Fukui Prefecture, Japan. My last visit here more than 6 years ago was around this time of the year as well. Winter has just begun in Fukui so the weather is far from the severest, but I have been spoiled by a year-round mild climate of San Diego. As before, I find myself shivering from the freezing temperature and occasional snowfalls. Eiheiji is one of the most important zen temples in Japan and visitors come here literally from all over the world. Although [...]

Journey Home IX, Japanese Landscape Painting

1/21/2010 2:03:01 AM

I was notified yesterday that my painting "Journey Home IX" was chosen as the Finalist - Outstanding Watercolor in the FineArtViews Painting Competition (December 2009). This is quite an honor as entries came in hundreds and many were truly breathtaking fine pieces. Judge was Nancy Guzik. Here's where you can view all award-winning paintings (link). Journey Home is a series of paintings depicting everyday scenes of Kyoto, Japan, my hometown, that I feel the need to record. Living thousands of miles away from home, I am shocked to see some things look totally different when I return. It is comforting to [...]

Waiting for Spring (Shiga, Japan) III, Japanese Landscape Painting

1/15/2010 12:25:01 AM

Compared to a city scene cluttered with all kinds of man-made things, a rural landscape usually looks simpler and more straightforward. This doesn't translate to a facility in painting rural scenes, however. Needless to say, it is a painter's familiarity with a subject matter that allows him to do a painting with more confidence. I've been practically a city person most of my life, having lived in places where snowy days were quite rare. So as I started this painting, I was not sure whether I would finish it without losing an initial motivation. As it turns out, I enjoyed [...]

Waiting for Spring (Shiga, Japan) II, Japanese Landscape Painting

1/14/2010 1:29:00 AM

I hear from friends and news reports that many parts of the Northern Hemisphere are experiencing one of the coldest winters right now. Days of bitterly frigid temperatures will make one wonder whether a harsh winter will ever end. When snow and ice are overwhelming, life becomes a fight for survival. In the face of Mother Nature, we are helpless but we can always believe spring will come again. Like a golden beacon signaling on a moonless night // Tao guides our passage through this transitory realm. // In moments of darkness and pain // remember all is cyclical. // [...]

Road to Eiheiji Temple III, Japanese Landscape Painting

1/22/2009 12:44:00 PM

This is one from my Eiheiji Temple series (read related post). Streetscapes like this are surely my favorite genre. In my paintings I like telling stories of ordinary people. It is ever so intriguing for me to depict their lives in the context of a streetscape. Is it merely recording a tiny piece of history of our time in a particular place? I'd like to think there's more than that when I see beauty, or rather the integrity of the humanity, in something banal or even vulnerable. Road to Eiheiji Temple, Japan III A larger image of this painting is [...]

Road to Eiheiji Temple, Japanese Landscape Paintings

1/5/2009 1:35:43 AM

During the News Year’s holidays several years ago, I joined my family on a trip to Eiheiji temple in Fukui Prefecture, Japan. I did a series of paintings afterwards, which are snapshots of various scenes along the country road leading to this famous Zen temple. That day we had a typical winter weather of the coastal region along the Sea of Japan; very wet snow falling sporadically from a gray sky. We drove past fallow rice fields and up gentle hills. Everywhere it was covered with white snow, rooftops of the farm houses looking especially thick. It was so quiet [...]

My Favorite Subjects (6) - Rural Japan

12/8/2008 12:11:44 PM

Waiting for Spring, Shiga, Japan Like anywhere else, urbanization is rapidly changing landscapes of rural Japan. Every time I go back to Japan, my native country, I try to travel in the countryside to look for the scenes that evoke a sense of nostalgia, something to remind me of my childhood -- before it's all gone. A long winter with thick snow is common in regions close to the Sea of Japan. My family and I were driving home from the seaside by way of the Road of Mackerel or "Saba Kaido" when we made a brief stop in Kutsuki, a tiny [...]

Drop Everything and Have a Cup of Tea

10/24/2008 11:30:03 AM

Silence at Eiheiji Temple, Japan (14"x21", 2005) Whether you sell your art or not, we all know how important customer service is. We all have been on the receiving end, first of all, as a customer and remember how we felt when we were treated nicely or rudely. That experience often determines whether we want to favor or avoid the business we dealt with. Now, going back in history to the 16th century, there was a well-known master of tea ceremony in Japan, Sen no Rikyu who described the art of tea in simple language. He said, "the way of tea [...]

A Thousand Winds

9/11/2008 5:58:26 PM

Today I just want to take a moment to remember those who touched our hearts by quoting one of the most beautiful poems, "A Thousand Winds." Do not stand at my grave and weep; / I am not there. I do not sleep. / I am a thousand winds that blow. / I am the diamond glints on snow. / I am the sunlight on ripened grain. / I am the gentle autumn rain. / When you awaken in the morning's hush, / I am the swift uplifting rush / Of quiet birds in circled flight. / I am the soft stars [...]