Heart Art in Tokyo

I am going to have my work exhibited at Heart Art, the 19th AIDS Charity Show, the National Art Center, Tokyo, from January 21 to February 1.  Hope you will enjoy the show.

2016

Painting Mr. Fuji is a cliche, but I tried it  for my study.   Mr. Fuji is of a good omen, especially on the new year's day, so let me share with you.  I wish you all a happy new year!

Landscape-exercise

I've never expected me to paint a landscape like this.  Anyway I am enjoying the excercise.  I'm not a good drawer but I put vigors into the scene with colors.

This is an island in the pacific sea side of Japan.  You'll be very lucky to capture the sunrise or sunset right in the middle of the opening (tunnel) of the island.

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Underpainting

Now I'm into realistic painting approach.   This is painted with ivory black only.  It is just an underpainting stage.  From now I'm goingto add colors.

It's just an exercise and not an artistic work.  Anyway now I'm enjoying it.

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MFA,Academy of Art University

It's been 2 months since I enrolled in MFA, Academy of Art University.  I painted realistic paintings with oil paint for the first time in more than 10 years.  In the beginning, I feel so clumsy ,feeling I've lost touch of oil painting and I often lost in the maze of hues, chroma, shadows, and saturation.  Also in the beginning I felt tedious in drawing and value rendering.  But now I'm into it.   It's also fun to communicate with my instructor and my class mates.  Of course I've keeping my own abstract painting.  Hope the experience of participation in this at class will upgrade my skills and give me some insight into art.

Academy of Art University

I've enrolled MFA, Academy of Art University this fall.  I had been long advised to join art programs and finally decided to join.  

I can renew and confirm what I have known and acquire new technique and knowledge.  It's so exciting to join discussion but it's still tough to catch up.

It'll be a long journey and I do not know if I can complete a master course, because it is challenging to juggle my time and budget.  I also want to present my paintings.  Anyway I will move on.

Herb Garden

After half a month of busy days, I went to Herb Garden on Rokkyo Mountain in Kobe to refresh myself.  I grow rosemary, lemon balm, parsley, honewort, and perilla at home, but they scatter and weeds grow with them, so I often weed out.

The photo below is one of the model house with herbs.  I want to live in such a house!

Hectic

I've been keeping busy since I came back from N.Y.  I wake up and go to bed very early.  My life has totally changed.  The painting below is titled Hectic, 15.2"x18.2", Acrylic and pastel on canvas, 2015, ©Kikuko Sakota Art

My Neighborhood

I took a walk in my neighborhood, which is a residential area to the north of Himeji Castle.  I spent my high school days in this place.  I went to the university in Kyoto, and since then, I've been working mostly around Kobe and Osaka, and staying abroad.  Even though I came back home,  I haven't taken a walk near my house so often.  So I found a new joyous habit, waling and finding something wonderful.

Hectic Holiday in N.Y.

I stayed in N.Y. at the end of March, keeping busy; visiting galleries in Chealsea, SOHO, and LES,  museums, joining the opening of the group show, shopping.... 

I visited N.Y.for the first time in 10 years so it took time to locate the destinations and even I took wrong subways many times. 

Anyway I enjoyed a lot.  I saw very unique art works in galleries, which showed me next moves for my art works.  I also enoyed delis in N.Y. , N.Y. UNIQLO with totally different products, which are Kabuki T shirts, (I don't think we have that ones in Japan)  In MOMA I watched a new film of Bjork's.  The photo below is the one allowed for visitors to shoot.  (not a new film)

Natural beauty

I have started weeding, since it's getting warmer.  Whenever I tried to stand up, I often hit my head on the branches.   It's the branches of a Japanese plum tree in the garden.    Finally I looked up and noticed the flowers were blooming!   So beautiful!    I always keep busy cleaning, cooking, doing choirs and working in my room at home or going out, and never never have looked at flowers at home very carefully.  Yes.  All the plants have life. 

One Sunny Day

It's the first Sunday of March.   Warm and fine.  I enjoyed cooking and laundry.

This week will be paced with schedule, interpreter's job and arrangement of travel to NY.

The drawing below is titled One Sunny Day, Pencil and gouache on paper, 8,5"x11.5", 2015, ©Kikuko Sakota Art, http://www.kikukosakota.com/

Adventure

In January and February, I have been almost staying at home, painting, drawing, and translating.

I have even enjoyed daily chores.

Now in March, as it it getting warmer, I feel I'm active.  I wanted to relax more at home, but also I guess many good things may be awaiting for me.  The drawing below is titled Adventure, pencil and gouache on paper, 8.5x11.5, 2015, ©Kikuko Sakota Art


Yoga

I attend a yoga class every week.  I used to take a jazz dance but I haven't located it  since I came back to Himeji.  So instead of jazz dance, I take a yoga class for exercise.

20 years ago I also tried yoga because I heard (if my memory is right) Johannes Itten, Bauhous, once advocated to practice yoga for art, especially for developing sense of colors.  I forget about it for a long time.

I feel fine when I stretch myself and rotate joints, neck, muscles.  While doing so, I feel warmer and I can feel my tight and tense muscles and joints become flexible.  Also I feel calm as if I released pent-up frustration and stress.  It is good stress management.

I think I'd better relax when I work and paint.  The drawing below is titled Past and Future, Gouache and pencil on paper, 4"x6", 2014, ©Kikuko Sakota Art


How does your garden grow?

When I was a teenager, I liked reading who done its, especially Agatha Christie's.  Later on I also enjoyed watching her TV series such as Hercules Poirot.   What I was attracted to was not how heinous crimes are solved, but characters she described and outfits, culture, and scenery of the film.

I came across one film titled How Does Your Garden Grow.   I would not touch upon the plot of this story but what I can tell is symbolically the murderer seeded malice and it grew in mind and it took place.

Whatever you seed, it will grow in your garden.  Hope I can seed something wonderful and let it grow in my garden.  The painting below is titled Garden, Acrylic and pastel on canvas, 21"x26", 2014, ©Kikuko Sakota Art


One of Thousand Suns

Once I painted the sun and stars.  Before I had the first biggest show, which was two person show with my former teacher, I was racking my brain to paint the largest canvas I ever tried.  While walking around my neighborhood, I saw the bookstore that I never noticed before. I stepped inside. 

 I came across a paperback.  Grapefruit Juice by Yoko Ono. 

I knew about her but I didn't know she wrote poems.  (I should have known better.)

More than ten years have passed.  I 've come back home.  While I was taking out books from the cardboard box to put them into shelves, my eyes were riveted on the title, Grapefruit Juice.   I just recalled the magnitude I was dumbfounded by her imperative and imaginative words.

Imagine one thousand suns in the sky at the same time.  

Let them shine for one hour.

(p.119, Grapefruit Juice, Kodansha, 1998)

The painting below is titled "One of Thousand Suns", Acrylic and pastel on canvas, 18"x21".  One thousand suns are too heavy for me to paint.  I just can try one of them and hope I paint one thousand in my lifetime.