The Last Painting in Japan - a Portrait of Jason Kelly

Jason Kelly and I met some fifteen years ago. We lived in Colorado at the time and although we both moved away, we have stayed in contact. Jason has lived for the past two years in Japan. He had invited me to come and visit on a number of occasions, so it seemed very appropriate to make Sano-shi the first stop on my painting adventure.

Jason writes both fiction and financial books (you can see his website here.) Over the years, we have had many fascinating conversations about the parallels between the creative process of writing and painting.

While I was in Sano-shi, Jason introduced me to his circle of friends, taught me some Japanese, showed me around many sights and made me welcome in his apartment. It was a fabulous visit.

Toward the end of time there, we decided the time was right for me to paint his portrait. Over several days, Jason posed and I painted. As is often the case, I find a monochromatic can convey as much, if not more, than a full color painting:




Many thanks to Jason, and every one of his friends there, who made my journey to Japan a very personal and insightful one.


Next: Hong Kong and the Paintings of Yang Shen-sum

The Visit with Takeshi Uemura

The following morning, Jason called Mr. Uemura's office. He agreed to meet with us for a short time in the afternoon at his office in Kyoto. We made our way there by train and bus, where Uemura met us at the stop and lead us to his office. He and Jason immediately began conversing in Japanese. We entered his office, which turned out to be his printing studio.




Initially Uemura showed us a few of his original prints. As Jason translated, I learned that Uemura is the last in a line on wood block printers. His father and grandfather had been doing this at a time when many people were involved in making prints of all types from the Ukiyo-e prints to book liner paper. It is now the end of this era. No one is making wood block prints of the type that Uemura and his family once made. Of the future, Uemura's comment was, 'We don't know.'




As we looked over all of his work, I was amazed at the level of quality and attention to detail in them. The fineness of gradation was almost invisible. This was particularly noticeable in one set of prints where the original art was a watercolor painting of a woman in kimono. It was hard see that the print was not the original. We were told about the variation of application of ink on paper and how he had always looked for new and better ways to apply the inks. In one example, he had figured out how to make a paste from seaweed with which he was able to control the saturation of the ink.

In another print of a woman peering into the night sky, I noticed the absolute control of the subtle value change across the background. Uemura commented that the background can be the most difficult part to of the process. I smiled when I heard this. Indeed, backgrounds can be the most difficult in painting as well. In order to achieve this particular background, Uemura had at night projected the light of the full moon onto the paper. From this, he was able to approximate the lighting effect using ink that was made from crushed pearl.

Uemura kept getting up and leaving the room return with yet another large box of prints. The stacks on the floor kept growing. By the time we looked up, our short visit had been over two and one-half hours long. We had a train to catch for our return to Sano-shi, so we bade farewell and were graciously invited by Uemura to come back and visit again.




Many thanks to Jason, without whom I would not have been able to meet learn about Takeshi Uemura. And many thanks to Uemura for his kind invitation to visit.


Next: The Last Painting in Japan - a Portrait of Jason Kelly

The Unexpected Meeting at the Kamigata Museum

Jason and I decided to take a weekend trip to visit art sites in Kyoto and Osaka. We met with a friend of ours, Atsuko, with whom we had traveled through Europe in 2001. Atsuko was our tour guide and led us through several of the more known sites including Kinkakuji and the Ryoanji Temple:



While it was nice to see these more known destinations, I was more interested in seeing art. Fortunately, Atsuko and Jason had seen these places several times before and so we switched the focus to the art museums.

Our visit the next day included a stop at the Osaka Museum. To be honest, the museum was unimpressive. We took a break for lunch and I contemplated why I had come all the way to Kyoto and Osaka - it was a long train ride and it was hotter here. Fortunately, the situation was about to change.

I had been very interested to see the Japanese wood block prints in the Kamigata Museum. During college, I had studied these prints in some detail and was looking forward to seeing them firsthand. We proceeded to the museum, and indeed, it was enjoyable to see and learn more about these classic works of Japanese art.

Then came the unexpected.

The three of us were taking a break on some tatami mats in one of the exhibit rooms, when a woman in a kimono came and asked if we would like to go upstairs to meet with some artists. I was up in a hurry! We got to the top floor and were invited to take off our shoes and join a group people sitting on the floor poring over a number of wood blocks and wood block prints.




Jason began translating the conversation. One of the artists we were sitting with carves the wood blocks and another one makes the prints. These two people are the last remaining wood block printers making these traditional works in Japan and, quite likely, in the world! They had come to Osaka that afternoon to visit the museum in Kyoto and we happened to be there at the same time. Was I astounded? Very much so.

We spoke about art and lost traditions and heard more about the process of wood block printing. Several of the blocks we were looking at were sixty-five years old. There was a time when many families and generations of families were involved in this work. Now, it had come down to these two. "No one is interested anymore," we were told.

We continued the conversation over tea and after some time had passed, the group got up to leave. My attitude had changed. Good thing I had come to Osaka after all. 'A good day,' I thought.

Then it got better.

The three of us headed downstairs. Outside, we met the printers again. While Atsuko and I spoke with one of them, Jason spoke with the other. When we finally parted, Jason informed us that Takeshi Uemura, the fellow with whom he had been chatting, had invited us to come and see him at his studio in Kyoto.

'We're going!' I told Jason.


Next: The Visit with Takeshi Uemura

Painting in Shiroyama Koen

Shiroyama Koen, within walking distance of Jason's apartment, offered so many possibilities for painting I decided to visit it several more times. This painting was started early in the morning - before six actually. The sun rises at 4:30 in the morning in Japan and they do not observe daylight savings time here. So, getting out early was a good use of the daylight.



The day began completely overcast which was appealing since I knew the light would not change for most of the day. Of course, as weather does, it changed and by noon the sun was shining brightly. Time to pack up and continue the following morning.

One nice aspect of early morning painting was meeting people on the walk to and in the park. Shopkeepers were up, retired people out strolling and neighbors out walking dogs all offered greetings of 'Konnichi wa'. And many of them stopped by to take a look and make inquiries about the painting.

Later that day, a friend of mine, Rumiko, met me in the park to pose for a study. Time was short as the sun set about an hour after starting. A study resulted from the sitting:



Thanks, Rumiko!


Next: The incredible visit to Kamigata Ukiyo-e Museum

First Portrait Painting in Japan - Tatsuya Soutome

Tatsuya Soutome was among the greeting party that met me upon my arrival to Sano-shi. Immediately, I was struck by his appearance and thought, 'A good face to paint.' As events unfolded, the opportunity soon arrived to do just that. He was the first person to paint on this trip.

Tatsuya posed at a school where Jason teaches. A group of Jason's students attended the demonstration. As I am learning about Japan, people here have, on the whole, been very hospitable and generous. Today was no exception. All the women in the class prepared a fantastic box lunch.

Immediately after the luncheon, we got to work. The lighting for the painting was just about perfect. Tatsuya turned out to be a great model and held the pose in absolute stillness. The images from the session will explain better than my words:


Preparing:




The start:




Block-in halfway:




Tatsuya gives the big thumbs up:




Tatsuya Soutome, June 2004



A big thanks to Tatsuya - a really wonderful fellow!


Next: Painting in the Park

Landscape Day at the Coco Winery

Another landscape painting day became an art class. My guide, Asuka, took me to the Coco Winery in the mountains above Sano-shi. The setting was fabulous for painting.



The discussion this day focused on the intent of a painting. Asuka had asked me how to describe the receding appearance of the mountains. It was a great question since that was the most outstanding characteristic of the landscape. This led us into a discussion about the intent of a painting. Paintings are not photographs, rather a visual commentary on the world - hopefully well conceived prose or, perhaps, poetry.

The weather was the hottest and most humid here so far. The big surprise of day was that paint dries more quickly here than in Taos. My expectation had been that the paint would take days to dry in this very humid climate. Quite the contrary; within minutes just a wash of color was already dry on the canvas to the point where it was beyond removal. And the paint on the palette had turned to thick gum within half an hour! Yikes!

Next: First Portrait Painting in Japan

Japan BBQ

Jason Kelly, my friend whom I am staying with in Japan, has been here teaching English for the past two years. He has made many friends here and introduced me to several of them. At one dinner party, the group decided they wanted to have a Japanese barbeque. I was invited.

The barbeque was a great event for learning more about the life here. While the charcoal cooking was similar, the food was different and included a lot of seafood and vegetable. The party was a mixed group composed of a retired schoolteacher, doctors, office workers, students and ranged in age from three to over seventy. The harmoniousness of everyone working together all evening was, for me, the most outstanding quality of the event. Even at the close, the group packed up at the same time and then gathered in a circle for a short closing chant. Very pleasant, very bonding - a really special moment.

One other note about the barbeque: hanabi. I had been told that the Japanese fireworks were better than what we are used to and I found this to be true. Someone had brought a huge bunch of hanabi and toward the end of the evening all of us took turns lighting them off.

The nighttime event did not offer an opportunity for painting. It did provide lots of material for painting such as this:



Next: Landscape painting at the Coco Winery

Tokyo Visit

More art supplies and a museum visit were the two main reasons for taking the train to one of the most populated cities in the world. The Tokyo National Museum looked like the best opportunity for seeing some traditional Japanese paintings. It was. Looking at paintings from this period was something I had been looking forward to long before arriving here. Many of these paintings I had seen in books from college and seeing them firsthand was wonderful.

My preference is to paint in more rural settings - the busyness of the city has no appeal to me. So the paints stayed in Sano-shi while my camera came to record sights. This photo is Tokyo at one in the morning. It was as busy as Manhattan at noon.



The paint supply trip was successful. Sekaido is a major, multiple floor art store with every supply imaginable. The only bigger store that I know of is Pearl Paint in New York.

Next: The Sano-shi party

First Study from Japan

The first study was done a in a park within walking distance of the apartment where I am staying. The park is called 'Shiroyama Koen' and has a wide variety of plants and trees and several large koi ponds. Definitely a spot worth visiting again for another painting.

The sky here is generally overcast, as it was on this day. The overcast light is perfect for painting and offers the most balanced lighting for all types of work.

It was great to finally get out and paint! More to come.

Next posting: The trip to Tokyo.

Museum Visit

Well, as often happens while traveling, the museum plan was changed. The Gunma Museum was closed the day we were to visit. Instead, we visited the Kurita pottery museum in Ashikaga. Initially, I was not as interested in visiting here since there are no paintings on canvas. The nice surprise was finding excellent paintings on the pottery. All the pottery was from Imari and Nabeshima, the most famous Japanese color picture ware and dyed porcelain ware. Asuka and I had a great and informative conversation about the thinking behind the design and balance that was, for me, the most impressive characteristic of this pottery.

The other surprise of this museum was the setting. The grounds and architecture were spectacular. Simple, elegant and beautiful.

Next, first painting from Japan.

Orientation to Japan

My orientation to Japan is underway. It has been a few days since my arrival here in Sano-shi, a town of about 80,000 people located an hour's bus ride west of Tokyo. I have found several painting spots in the vicinity so painting commences.

Today I meet with a women's group at a local academy to discuss plans for a painting demonstration next week. Most likely, we will be deciding who will be sitting for a portrait session. I've been making mental notes about the differences in facial characteristics of the people here. Of course, it will be more interesting to focus more carefully during the demonstration.

Tomorrow, Thursday, will be the first art museum visit. Asuka has invited to give me a tour of the Gunma Museum of Art in Tatebayahsi, which, I am told, has a good collection of traditional art.

Next - Notes of the Gunma Museum and images of paintings from Japan. Stay tuned!