Japan
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Torii Gaze
Originally this was intended to show a modern (so manga style) Japanese eye within which the mind behind the eye was reflecting on something ancient, a pagoda for example. By various twists and turns it is now a modern eye literally reflecting the light from a nearby Torii gate. However, if I ignore the frustration…
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Chion-in (知恩院)
I find it rather odd that the less paint I put on the paper the more effort it takes me to do so. I have long admired those who can seemingly capture the essence of a scene with just a few broad and (apparently) lazy brush strokes, rather than getting caught up as I often…
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Cat Temple
In the suburbs of Tokyo there is a curious temple, properly called Daikeizan Gotokuji but popularly known as the Cat Temple. The story goes that a local ruler was invited by a cat into the temple and thereby found shelter from a sudden and violent thunderstorm. In gratitude, the ruler dedicated the temple to the…
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Nikko II
The temples in Japan are extremely elegant – none more so than this example in Nikko called Rinno-ji (輪王寺). I suspect that I could have painted a more accurate picture of this building using brushes, or drawn it more cleanly using a pen, but I have to say that spreading these rich colours across the…
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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…
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Nikko (日光市)
Nikko is a popular tourist site in the mountains to the north of Tokyo, full of superb shrines and temples, nearby a picturesque lake and several onsen (hot springs), and at this time of year full of autumn colours. There is also this bridge, which no longer carries any traffic but which (for obvious reasons)…
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Box
I have mentioned before about my liking of the box or kei cars in Japan. On my recent visit I was pleased to see they are as abundant as ever on the roads, and the most recent designs are even smarter than before. This one caught my eye early on in the trip – I’m…
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Kanazawa Castle
Castles in Japan are both quite different and very similar to those I am used to back home (in England). So for example, they have moats, big thick stone walls and slits through which to fire at anyone who is attacking the castle, just as I imagine castles must have almost anywhere in the world.…
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Mount Fuji
Easily visible from many places in the region around Tokyo (except for most of the time when the clouds hide it!) this famous mountain is of course extremely iconic. The advantage of this from an artist’s point of view is that, provided you have managed to draw two sloping sides and a snowy summit, the…
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Suzuki Hustler
Japan (or at least the parts of Japan that we visited) seemed to be full of these “box” or “kei” cars. To my European eyes they initially looked rather quirky, but after a few weeks they ceased to appear odd and instead many of them just struck me as having designs that were full of…
Doodling ... 