Artist Discovery: Kiyoshi Yamashita's Japanese Art

A friend of mine in Japan turned me on to the artwork of Yamashita Kiyoshi and I've been mesmerized by his technique and his life story. Can you believe that he worked with tiny pieces of torn paper? She told me that my painting of a #Yakatabune in Tokyo Harbor reminded her of his work. He has long since passed away but I think this goes to show that if you create great art with all of your heart you can leave a lasting impression on the world long after you have departed.
http://freemanproject.wordpress.com/2010/05/29/kiyoshi-yamashita/

To Edit or Not to Edit? That is the Question.

I've decided that rather than continue creating new works I'm going to go back and fix some of the pieces that have always bugged me, for one reason or another. For example, I've always felt that my large oil painting from the Japanese Cherry Blossom Festival in Japantown, San Francisco, had a dull sky, not only in action but in color. (See below) The blue was kind of dead. I went back and added some clouds, birds, etc. and this gave it a lot more energy. I also added the "SF" logo to the Giants booth and included a lot of cherry blossoms in the air. I wanted the fans to be focal points so I added more white and added a darker red to the rising sun part. I'm much happier with the final version. Let me know what you think?

Painting wet in wet has some limitations and it takes a few months to let time pass and paint dry in order to see what you'd like to adjust. I took some inspiration from Terry Miura, who doesn't give up on a painting if it nags him for some editing a few months or years later. What are your thoughts?

After

Before

Show this weekend at Casa Bella Galleria!

Woohoo! After a lot of preparation and painting I'm ready for the big show tomorrow night and




Saturday. I'll be taking part in the Second Saturday in the Del Paso area of Sacramento. There are 24 galleries in the area, including a project (of which I'm part) where business owners open their doors to an artist and transform into a gallery for a few days a month. It's a way to get business in the door and help out local artists. I'm excited about working with the folks at this huge furniture/home design place because it will show what my paintings will look like when they're actually in a house. There will be food and wine too, in fact, I heard that a pianist will be there too.

Here are two samples of smaller pieces I did recently. The top painting is a vegetarian restaurant in Fair Oaks called Sunflower. My co-workers and I sometimes go there for lunch. The other painting is a restaurant/bar in Roseville called Crush 29. The interior design is pretty funky and cool.

Casa Bella Galleria is on the corner of Arden and Del Paso Blvd and the show goes from 6-9 p.m., both Friday and Saturday.