Hi there!
I donated this heart painting for an etsy shop called HeartsforHaiti, and they sell items donated by other etsy sellers for procedes to go to Doctors Without Borders.
They opened their shop on the 14th of January, and have ‘As of 10 pm EST 2/7/10 we have raised $28,531.16 (after fees) for Doctors Without Borders.’
So Amazing and wonderful!
Here is their link to their shop, blog, facebook.
Make sure to take a look! There are great stuff, and everything is shipped for free.
My grandfather is 75 years young today!
I was feeling a little down yesterday, and happened to be near Kinokuniya, so I stopped there to make me feel a little better. I always head to the craft and materials section first, and saw the sumi ink and brush section. The orange ink always reminds me of new years, and so I grabbed it and bought it with hopes that I would actually use it.
These were quick paintings, and I really mean quick because I was just about to go to sleep, and saw the bottle on my nightstand, and decided I needed to try it out before going to sleep. It has such a nice velvety, silky texture. I love it!!
The colors are much more vibrant in real life…
These are scans from my sketchbook, of drawings done during school. I’ve had them in a folder in my hard drive for ages, and it was meant to be in my website way back when. It’s a bit random…
Meditation via color pencils.
I went the other day to see Stray Dog, directed by Akira Kurosawa. It is so good!! I love old detective movies, and this is definitely a great film. Love it!!
Here’s Toshiro Mifune, who plays the rookie cop in a frantic search to find a colt pistol which was stolen from him.
I have officially lived on this planet for a quarter century.
I feel so old!!!
Here I am at 8 months, with my lovely mother:)
Since 12am, I’ve waited for a train at the Bergen St. station, watched rats scurry in the tracks, got off around Wall St., walked down to Whitehall terminal, missed the ferry, bought a New Yorker, witnessed a drunken argument, sat on the ferry and sketched a story idea, got off the bus, and am now settled in my room in a warm sweater, and freshly washed face.
I think sleep is up next!
I painted this heart last night, and some more this morning.
I’ve been trying to get some original art in my shop, so why not some hearts!
Continuous line drawing of a heart, and playing with a cork stamp, and tried using my fingertip as a stamp as well. It looks like squished bugs on a windshield.
Today started out great!
I got in the mail this little guy I bought form RothschildStudio’s etsy shop. She sells beautiful ceramic sculptures, and a bunch of lovely ojime. I absolutely love him!!! I think I actually squeaked with happiness when I opened the package.
I’ve had a fondness for monkeys ever since I could remember. I have always had stuffed animals of monkeys, and when I grew old enough to comprehend the concept of surnames, I came to learn that my mother’s family name was Saruta. Saru in Japanese means monkey, and I always thought it was funny and odd but great nonetheless.
While in high school, I became fascinated by mythology and creation myths from around the world. I got a book one day comprising of Asian creation myths, legends, and deities, and when I got to the Shinto section I saw my mother’s surname staring back at me. Having never read much on mythology and Shinto deities, I was pretty shocked, and surprised. The deity called Sarutahiko okami was a guardian kami, and he is said to have guided the grandson of the sun goddess from Heaven to Earth. It’s pretty fascinating, but it makes me wonder how my grandfather’s family got that name…
Either way, I’ve always loved monkeys as a sort of omen for good luck, and I even wear these little guys around my neck on a daily basis.
So, even when things are looking grim, I’m keeping my optimism high and hopeful!
It’s the year of the tiger, so I got my pastels, inks, and watercolor out to celebrate.
In the Japanese tradition, it is celebrated along with the Western calender, and I have such fond memory of growing up and being surrounded by the festivities and overall goodwill and optimism around the New Years.
Tiger (tora)
Born 1998, 1986, 1974, 1962, 1950, 1938, 1926, 1914.
People born in the year of the Tiger are sensitive, stubborn, short-tempered, courageous, selfish and slightly mean … yet they are deep thinkers and are capable of great sympathy for those they are close to and love. For more info click here.
Here’s a link to a lovely article about a craftsman, who makes wonderful clay bells for the new years.
Happy New Years!!
The happy pastel figure has sat in my sketchbook all alone, so I drew in a lady to kiss him good luck.
This collage started out as a drawing in my sketchbook. I then glued in three photographs from magazines, and stamped over to make the background.
He was once a great king, who ascended to the throne at a very young age…
The dark smudged text came from the the New Yorker. It was unfortunate that I couldn’t read the article (The Pharaoh by Ian Parker), but the moment I saw it, I knew I wanted to use it for something.
It was pretty windy today!
