Commissioned Pieces V—Faith & Haiga

Painted

Side by Side

This is actually a continuation of the post earlier. The same lovely gentleman who upon commissioning portraits of one of his granddaughter, reached out months later about his other younger one. The photos I received of her were adorable, and had a hard time narrowing down to which two to paint, but somehow I managed. That said, I also had to request for extra time to complete the paintings even prior to accepting the request, as my situation had changed since I shipped off the portraits he had commissioned earlier. Was very very lucky that he had faith in me and gave me more than a reasonable timeframe to complete the piece—and did I take my time.

It's not easy to have people have faith in you, especially if it is coming from someone who requested a one-of-a-kind piece that hasn't even been created yet. They can tell you all samples of your work they liked and have an idea of what they want, but for them to trust you enough with not only creative approaches but with a very loosely set timeframe, is a big ask. I wanted plenty of time to make sure that I was in the right mindset/space to be able to capture that sweet quality his little granddaughter had—and still does of course. I also debated for the longest time if I was going to paint some flowers in the background of the painting where she is sitting with a mirror in her hand, which was in the original photo provided to me. After going back and forth many times in my mind, decided against it and when I told that to "client" I was happy to hear that he felt the same—again, that's having faith in me, my decision to give it what I thought was needed white space and continuity of all 4 pieces that he commissioned.

He also mentioned that my pieces have the simplicity of haiga which is why he loved my work. From Wikipedia: hagia is a style of Japanese painting that incorporates the aesthetics of haikai. Haiga are typically painted by haiku poets (haijin), and often accompanied by a haiku poem. like the poetic form it accompanied, haiga was based on simple, yet often profound, observations of the everyday world.

To have him say that meant the world to me, as he got exactly what I wanted to convey all along—simplicity, calmness, joy, with a light poetic touch. and this is also about me being grateful and having faith in my clients/people who I am connected to.

Commissioned Pieces IV—En

Painted—Hot Cocoa

Sketched

Traced

Blotted—Waiting to be Fully Dried

En, the Japanese for destiny/fate. If you ask me what am most grateful for in life, I would answer without any hesitation, that I truly have the best en. A message came in via my website to me 2 years ago, asking for a commission portrait of the sender's lovely granddaughter and mentioned that we have met, both grandfather, granddaughter and I way back in Spring 2016 at Jalk Coffee, where I was holding my exhibition. She was 12 at the time, and now is turning 17, and I have since relocated back to Vancouver, moved three times, still trying to settle back into my hometown. Who would have believe this? An almost 80 year-old gentleman, who English is not his first language, searched the internet for me, reached out in a wonderfully written message in English, and asked for me to paint a portrait of his granddaughter? I really was too much—meaning, I was beyond humbled and delighted for someone to remember me from just one encounter and then to find me 5 years later.

We corresponded over the course of a week and then longer to update each other on preferences, progress, details, and most importantly, things that have nothing to do with the commission itself—about how are we doing and what has been happening in our daily lives across the globe. During this process, it was decided that instead of 1 portrait, 2 would be commissioned, since we both or his family can't decide which sketches would be "the one" that would be her birthday present. She would in the end choose which one she would like as her present, and he would keep the other. To me, one is of her "now" a young girl in summer, enjoying an iced coffee, and one is of her "future" a young lady in thought, enjoying a hot chocolate. Both the same and different at the same time—but still very her.

After having them safely shipped off to Tokyo, I heard that the girl, now a young lady, would be spending time here in Vancouver to study English. I have since met her a number of times, and ended up meeting both her parents as well, enjoying great food, stories, and laughs together. Of course, all this was reported to her grandfather, who happily took great time and effort to write back to me. Every word of his correspondence was as sincere as sincere can get. she did return to Japan the following spring, and we all promised each other that when I do go Tokyo again, we would all visit Jalk Coffee, where our meeting filled with en first happened and hopefully not end there. Side note, we are still in touch!

Commissioned Pieces III—Zen

bubbles—hearts on canvas II, In Progress

bubbles—hearts on canvas II, In Detail

bubbles—hearts. I only intended to paint bubbles—hearts for my first show back in Vancouver at the beginning of 2017.  Did one on canvas and one on watercolour paper, both being small pieces (8" x 8" and 8" x 12"). They found new homes, and that was supposed to be it. Then, a couple of years ago, a dear friend reached out to me asking for a larger one for her home. Since it'll be travelling all the way back to Japan, we decided to go with a 16" x 16". Purely looking at the numbers/dimension, doubling of a 8" x 8" to the commissioned size seems to be an easy one, but in reality, painting bubbles, especially hearts, was very time consuming and took quite a bit of effort. of course, my habit of only painting when am happy/in a positive mind set/space, did not help. so, one of my conditions to accepted the commission was, are you fine with me taking my time and I will take my time.

Yes, I make it a "rule" to only paint when am ready to, which means when am of positive energy because I truly believe that my energy gets transferred to the pieces I paint while am painting them. Why would I want to spread negative vibes around, especially with this piece which is composed solely of layers and layers hearts? My goal is for whoever has a piece of my work, that it brings them joy and hopefully, some zen/calmness in life. Modern day life has lots of stressors and do not need to be an amplifier of that. I much rather my work warms the soul, well, at least that's the goal......

Note: all photos were taken under natural sunlight with shadows. When seeing the progress photos, does it seem like the love/hearts/feelings are growing/multiplying on you?

Comissioned Pieces II—Resonate

Initial Sketch

Trace

Blotted Outlines

An unexpected request came in from a dear friend of many years. A portrait of his adorable little girl, who unfortunately I have yet to meet, as they live elsewhere across the globe. He was in town for a short while and we met up during his stay. Of the photos he sent, decided to sketch and paint this one, which I thought was especially cute. The reason for commissioning the piece was personal and unique, which is not for me to share, but what I can say is that it resonated with me and opened up a new way to look at things. Hence, I wanted to do it justice. painting long wavy hair is not a specialty of mine and did struggle a bit with it.

I couldn't get good photos of the finished piece nor its progress, as the weather was not great while I was working on it. It's been a number of years since I shipped off the painting, his little girl isn't so little anymore. I hope that it still captured that very special moment and embodied the meaning of it being commissioned in the first place. It really is a honour and blessing to be able to do what I do and then share it with you lot—though with significant time delay! And oh, don’t you just love that little teddy bear?

On Painting - bubbles

Many people often ask me if I do indeed paint each and every single bubble in my paintings by hand, and when I answer yes, they would say "you must be very patient!". In all honesty, am not, which is very ironic/contradictory, as I like to create my pieces, no matter if it's the blotted line drawing illustrations or my bubbles painting, using time consuming and tedious techniques.

In the case of painting numerous on bubbles am using softer watercolour brushes on a rougher canvas surface.  I used to use natural fiber Japanese brushes, efude, but I went through too many of them in a very short period of time.  What's worse, is that they are impossible to replace here in Canada.

Even switching over to synthetic Western watercolour brushes, I still go through them like mad.  Here's a look at the three brushes am using at the moment, the left almost at the end of its cycle, the center, half way there, and to the right, a new brush that would eventually end up looking like the one of the left.  And by all means, am not using student/craft quality brushes--I can't because I find the bristles either too firm, too brittle, not holding enough pigment......

I take care of my supplies very well, as they are an important part of my work.  However, I just put my brushes through way too much to a point that it's heartbreaking and I do feel sorry for them.  If you are wondering what brushes I use, it's Winsor & Newton Galeria Round.  That said, I still use fude whenever am painting on paper, which is better, but they too will need to replaced much quicker than they were meant to be.

New Website

It's been almost 5 years since my website received a major overhaul. The last time was back in 2013, and it took me 2 months to perfect the look and feel of it.  I have been thinking about redoing my site for more than a year now, and I finally did!  Am very happy to share this with you--though, you reading this post right now, would have already seen it!

I did not just refreshed it with a new template, but I decided to redo everything (yes, I redesigned some elements and then copied and pasted all the content over) to give a smoother navigation experience, and a lighter look.  Come to think of it, my first website in 2005 was completely based on black, then in 2013 it was dark grey, and come 2018, it's now white with light grey.  The new site took me a solid month, but there is still much more to do--keep watching this space, as I have more things planned for this little website of mine!  And thank you for being with me on this creative life journey.

Summer Inspirations

Am prepping for something right now, and have been busy painting away on canvas, so much so that I "killed" lots of my wonderful brushes from Japan and now working with new ones that are not quite the same as the ones I love.  That said, am very happy and grateful to be doing what I am doing.  Because of the larger painting surfaces, am able to do full on compositions that are not found in some of my smaller bubbles painting.  Am sharing with you the inspirations behind my "bubbles--summer" piece.

There are actually two inspirations the first one is of my favourite Japanese festival, Tanabata, Star Festival on Jul 7 of each year. The annual celebration is about the legend of the fated lovers, who are separated by the earth and moon, can only meet on this day every year. I just love the romantic tradition of writing your wishes on tanzaku, a strip of paper, and hanging it on sasa no ha, bamboo branches. The photo is of the spellbinding sasa no ha arrangement I saw at the Main Building of the established Hotel Okura in 2015, which was torn down for reconstruction later that year.  I wrote a blog about it too (jodisam.com/blog/2015/07/06/tanabata-star-festival). When I painted this painting, I imagined it repeating and repeating endlessly in my mind--just like how it is shown here.

The second inspiration is of the summer wind chime, furin, installation with brilliant colourful streamers at another favourite of mine, Tokyo Midtown, also from a couple of years back. And funny, it was a year later in 2016 that I had my spring bubbles there as their 40 m window and visual merchandising display! I really believe in the "en" of it all!

Sakura Bubbles

It's been a long while since I wrote a post on my blog, as I have been a little busy and more active on my Instagram and Facebook accounts instead.  After coming back to Vancouver, I have been experimenting with painting my bubbles on canvases and have rather taken a liking to them.

For an upcoming project, I have started painting on large size canvases, and this one is the largest to date: 91 cm x 61 cm (36" x 24").  I call this my "massive canvas challenge" because of the amount of time and effort needed to complete a painting.  What you are seeing here took place over the course of weeks, turning the canvas this way and that.  It is still not completely finished as shown here in the last photo.  Think I'll put on the finishing touches later.

The inspiration comes from the beautiful sakura of Japan that I have been blessed to be surrounded by for the past six springs.  Not that we don't have these delicate flowers in Vancouver, but the scale is different.  For me, the lightness and sense of serenity is key.  Am going to do a seasons series, so this the the first one of four paintings.  Stay tuned for the upcoming ones!

Commissioned Pieces

This is the first blotted line drawing I've done since relocating back to Vancouver and it's a commissioned piece. I usually don't post about personally commissioned & customized work, but thought it is time to share, especially when it was requested by someone who is a major supporter of my art. I just love working with others to come up with a piece that they would have and love. I think that was why I liked fashion styling too--it is a true collaboration between the photographer, hair & makeup artist(s), model(s), the client, and me. Am an extremely fortunate person to have gathered the love and support that I have. So, thank you everyone and am looking forward to creating more commissioned pieces with others!!

This image includes all the steps to my blotted line drawings:

1. Sketching
2. Blotting
3. Painting
4. Signing--major one, if it's not good enough, will not sign and I would redo the entire process over again
5. Framing--if being sent out (with lots of love) to the paintings new home

And if it was a work that needs to be delivered digitally as well:

6. Scanning
7. Digital touching up

JS Blotted Line Drawing Supplies

I've posted and even did a PechaKucha presentation about how I create my blotted line drawings (jodisam.com/blog/2014/04/07/blotted-line-drawing-aries/ and jodisam.com/blog/pechakucha-from-daydreams-to-ink-and-pixels/). Thought that it would be interesting to share with you some of the supplies I use for my works, cause am a rather particular & habitual person and insist on using certain items.  The following are an essential part of my so-called "art kit".

Every year when I visit home, I always bring back a couple of things with me.  The first is Clearprint's Design Vellum that is made of 100% cotton fiber.  I know that there are many types of tracing paper available here in Japan, but this is the only one I have used for my blotted line creations.  I find Clearprint's Design Vellum clear and thick enough for tracing and blotting, especially because it is made of cotton fiber.  Just love natural materials.

The second is tape--low tack masking tape, or painter's tape.  I used 3M Scotch-Blue Painter's Tape for Delicate Surfaces for a number of years until this February when I discovered Frogtape Delicate Surface Painter's Tape!  It was only when my art supply store ran out of the 3M one I went to Home Depot store to buy it, and when I was speaking with a staff there that he recommended Frogtape to me.  I must use low tack tape to secure my tracing/blotting paper and watercolour paper to a board in order for me to blot my illustrations with ease and be able to completely remove the tape after the blotting is finished and inked dried.  Even with the most low tack tape, the watercolour paper can still sometimes rip when the tape is being removed.  But I have to say that with Frogtape, such damages happen less.

For pen nibs, I mainly use Speedball Hunt Globe Bowl Pointed 513EF (for regular lines) and Zebra Mapping No. 2586 (for fine lines).  I have a number of nibs, but somehow always reach for these two.  For ink, it has to be Platinum Carbon Ink in Black. I swear by this waterproof, lightfast, pigment-based carbon ink!  I get the darkest, waterproof lines from it, and one bottle lasts forever.

In terms of paper, I don't use top-of-the-line watercolour paper, though I would love to, simply because of the unpredictability of blotting.  I don't know how many sheets of paper I have thrown out because of too much ink and other silly mistakes that comes with this method of illustrating.  I like a true white, somewhat textured, grained paper, and of what is available in Japan, I choose to use Canson Montval Watercolour Paper that is cold pressed, 100% cellulose, and of good weight (300g).  It does have its limitations where I cannot do too many washes with it, but considering the type of painting I do, it currently fits my needs best.

For watercolours, I just tube paints from a number of makers: Schmincke Horadam (my favourite, though most expensive), Maimeri MaimeriBlu, Winsor & Newton, Holbein, and so on.  And lastly, I use traditional Japanese & Chinese brushes, not the typical western watercolour ones.  They are of a bamboo body, with natural fiber hairs.  This makes them light, and enables them to pick up and distribute colours beautifully.  They help me bring my work to life.  I think it's also because they were the first brushes I ever used when I was a child, and I never really gotten away from them......

Well, this is a pretty long and extensive list.  I hope it gives you more insight into with what I create my illustrations with, since most of the work you see here are digital images of the actual paintings.  Am old school--I love love love things that are tangible and have depth, texture, look & feel to them.  Below is the finished painted that has been scanned and ready for my "tokyo trend" report for Jun 2016!

Keeping Warm - Haramaki & Bunny Slippers

For my Feb tokyo trend report: waist warmers--haramaki. I personal wear one at home, and a thinner, black cotton one under my winter clothes when am out.  Am also posting some work-in-progress photos as well! Enjoy and stay warm everyone!!

Process & Progress

Am in the process of writing a new book, a project that has taken up much of my creative time.  Hence, many of my recent blog posts are about things other than my illustrations.  Am posting a few work in progress pictures of my summer "tokyo trend" report--fashion inspired by the French Riviera.

PechaKucha - from daydreams to ink and pixels

Ever wondered how I create my work or what my creative process is--or if I even have one?

It's rather embarrassing posting about this, since I can't stand my own voice (have yet to watch this personally)! But, I hope you'll find my PechaKucha presentation interesting! And after watching this, I look forward to you stopping by my show next month, to see my creations in person. Nothing beats the originals!

www.pechakucha.org/cities/tokyo/presentations/from-daydreams-to-ink-and-pixels or click on the image above to bring you to the site.

P.S. Special thanks to the people who came to watch this live last month, and the ones who previewed this before me posting it. Was told that I did not too bad! Hahaha......

Blotted Line Drawing & Aries

Many people ask what kind of medium and what kind of technique do I use.  So, I thought I should share how do I paint my paintings using my interpretation of the astrological sign Aries as an example.

The technique I use is called "Blotted Line Drawing".  Since I was a child, I have loved illustrations created by this method without ever knowing how it was done.  It was only until I saw an Andy Warhol drawings exhibition, that I found out about it.  After that, I completely changed my painting style, and adopted blotted line drawing technique.  Though looking back, I should have done more research when I first started this, because it would have saved me lots of trials and errors!

Above is the final product which is all hand-drawn, scanned, and touched up on a computer.  And below are the steps:

1. I first sketch out my original idea for Aries

2. I then trace the sketch in pencil with design vellum paper, as I find normal tracing paper to be too thin

3. The traced sketch is outlined with ink by me slowly blotting the outlines on to a mounted sheet of watercolour paper.  This is a really time consuming step, where lots can go wrong--too much ink, small splatters, smudging, and etc. Oh, how much time and sheets of paper and time have I wasted in the past (and still do) on this step alone!

4.  After completing the ink blotting, I wait overnight for the ink to dry

5. I use watercolours with traditional fude, Chinese/Japanese paint brushes, to colour in the illustration

6. After another night, the dried coloured image is scanned to be touched up digitally.  I do this because too much of the texture from the paper shows up in the scans, and is very distracting especially when viewed on a computer screen.  This is the same image as the initial one of this post--the completed product, so to say

7. The original painting is framed, and is really to be showcased at the stars & my favourite things show!  Of course, my little Aries is also looking forward to meeting her new owner, and finding her destined new home!

For more information about the blotted line technique, please visit the Andy Warhol Museum website (For me, I found this out a little too late):

www.warhol.org/education/resourceslessons/Blotted-Line/

They even have a step-by-step video, though I personally neither use watercolour ink nor trace from photos even when I draw items in real life.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlvFRDvvNow#t=196

Ladybugs: Before and After Watercolour

The first thing I ever painted as a child at my community art center class was a pair of ladybugs strolling under some flowers.  Now years later, am still thinking of the same little creatures.

Am sharing both the B&W (roughly scanned) and completed images of my work.  I use carbon ink for all the outlines of my illustrations, and then watercolour for the colours.  Painting with watercolour is almost like second nature for me.  I have used various mediums before, but I find still it the easiest one for me to express myself.

These ladybugs are now taking off on their own little adventures!