Torii

The island of Naoshima, situated in the Seto Sea just off the mainland coast of Japan, is well known for its contemporary art exhibitions and installations. However, as far as I am aware this torii gate which we saw on that island is not a piece of art, but in fact a real torii gate signalling (as they do) a nearby shrine. It was not the shrine that caught my eye though, so much as the lighting of the gate and the view beyond, which I have attempted to capture in this painting.

Whilst I like the overall result, which shows the view largely as I remember it, nevertheless this painting was a sharp reminder to me that I really still don’t know how to control watercolour paints! There are a few “happy accidents” in this painting, such as where the shore grasses and the sand ran into each other, but also some plain and simple gaffs such as the colouring around the sun.