Between Winter and Spring
2/24/2026 4:33:34 PM
My brother sent me this photo from his visit to Kitano Shrine in Kyoto with our mother last weekend.
The plum blossoms (梅) - resilience, quiet strength, hope at winter’s end - were in bloom.
A bridge spans the space - a passage of time, generations, and memory.
A couple walking across it reflects companionship, continuity, and life unfolding together (The couple crossing the bridge does not appear in the original photo. They are my addition, imagined to express companionship and continuity within the quiet setting).
The branches drape gently over the shrine buildings, as if nature itself is embracing history.
Painting this scene felt like [...]
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Plein-Air or Studio? Yes.
2/21/2026 11:12:18 PM
I was recently invited to give a plein-air demonstration here in Southern California. During a conversation, someone asked me, "Do you also work in the studio?"
I smiled. Yes, I do.
I love painting outdoors. The shifting light, the breeze, the unpredictability - plein-air painting asks for decisiveness. It forces simplification. The other morning, as I was painting, the light changed completely within twenty minutes. What began as a cool morning scene turned warm and golden before I could fully establish my shadows. There is no arguing with nature. You respond, adjust, and move forward. It keeps you honest.
But I also love the [...]
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Trusting the Moment: Why the Ordinary Can Be Enough
2/19/2026 6:15:14 PM
I was walking along a quiet canal in Venice, not looking for anything remarkable. Just a narrow passage, walls leaning softly over the water, and a light shining from somewhere beyond. And yet, something in me tugged: this needs to be painted. There was no famous landmark, no grand view. Nothing extraordinary from any outside perspective. And yet, I knew. I just felt it in my gut.
That quiet certainty, that small spark of hope from the light, was enough to stop me, to hold me there, to call for my brush.
As artists, we often wait for something "important" to appear before [...]
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Passing It Forward
2/13/2026 1:53:08 PM
Recently I received a surprise from a former student - greeting cards printed with his paintings, followed by a box of sweet pecans from Arkansas. Beyond the kindness of the gifts, what moved me deeply was seeing his work again after some time had passed. I could feel more emotion in the paintings. More courage. More freedom. The voice was becoming his own.
Moments like this are among the greatest rewards of teaching. Not because a student paints like me, but because they begin to trust themselves.
I often think that as artists, we teach far more by example than by instruction. Students [...]
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Flamenco Dancer XXXVI - A Glimpse Into the Process
2/10/2026 1:06:56 PM
For this painting I photographed three moments along the way: after the first wash, the second wash, and the final stage. I always enjoy looking back at these steps, because they remind me how much of watercolor is a dance between intention and letting go.
First stage
In the first wash, I freely threw colors across the paper, using plenty of water and keeping a warm atmosphere in mind for the light. Even at this early stage, I began placing dark tones, hinting at where the strongest contrasts would eventually live. I like establishing this emotional structure early as it gives me something [...]
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Re-visiting the Same Subject
2/7/2026 12:33:38 PM
Returning to the same subject is never really about repeating myself.
Sometimes I come back because I feel a deep connection as if the place still has more to tell me. The first painting might have captured a greeting but not yet the conversation.
Other times, a familiar motif becomes a quiet studio partner. I no longer need to search for what to paint, so I can concentrate on how: the timing of a wash, the temperature of a shadow, the balance of edges, the courage to simplify, etc.
And there are days when I return simply out of curiosity and play. What will [...]
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A Thought on Wabi-Sabi
2/2/2026 7:05:39 PM
It is not once or twice that I have heard the word kintsugi mentioned by Western artists, often those deeply interested in Japanese or East Asian art, in the context of Japanese philosophy, especially wabi-sabi. More than once, it was spoken as if I would naturally know exactly what they meant, simply because I am Japanese.
I remember feeling slightly awkward, even embarrassed. I grew up in Japan, yet I was not especially familiar with kintsugi, nor did I realize it was so widely known outside the country. For a time, I assumed this gap was my own - something I had [...]
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