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

Starting Crime Novel Illustration!

After a lot of preparation, I'm getting started on the book cover for a crime novel by JJ Marsh called "Behind Closed Doors." I have had skype calls with the publisher and the author in the UK and Zurich. I'm excited about how this oil painting will turn out and how it will contain elements of the story within. Wish me luck.

Starting series of Victoria, British Columbia.

I travelled to Victoria a while back for a conference and stayed an extra day to take in the sights of this beautiful capitol city. It really is a little gem and everyone I talk to who has visited raves about it. I took some great photos and will be completing a series of the following paintings:

1. Don Mee restaurant at dusk in Chinatown
2. Fan Tan alley, also in Chinatown
3. Harbor boats at dusk
4. Victoria Harbour water taxi

Stay tuned...

"In Shadow"

Nevada City Chamber of Commerce

This piece was completed for the show at Broad Street Bistro. It's an 11x14 oil and I'm happy with the way the values (lights to darks) came out. The price for this piece, framed, is $350. I recently sold the piece I did off Thai Basil Restaurant in downtown Sacramento.

Fundraiser painting: "101 Years and Counting" completed and sold

A big thanks to benefactor and all around great guy, John Mitchell for purchasing the original oil painting. The money goes to the Livingston High School baseball program. The painting is based on a photo of the 1909 team. I'm still amazed when I think back on what life must have been like in the little farming communities at that time. This was 5 years before the start of WWI. Amazing.

Shhh...Second Saturday at the Level Up Lounge

I'm all ready for the big show Saturday, June 12 at Level Up on 25th and J, just above Thai Basil restaurant here in Sacramento. The show will be there all month. I have 25 paintings on the walls and I'm very happy with the way everything looks. This painting is the title track of this show, called "Shhhhh". It's an oil portrait from a party I attended in the Philippines. I will be showing 9 portraits in this show. Come check it out and say hello. I'll be there from 6-11 pm.

Cafe Rolle Featured on Food Network's Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives with Guy Fieri

I found out recently that Cafe Rolle was featured on Guy Fieri's show. This is very cool and also hilarious. I actually bought all of the ingredients and cooked the lentil salad. Mine was okay but I used powdered chicken stock and it ended up being way too salty, but it was still tasty.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6pj97MMXGg

Cafe Rolle Painting Delivered to Chef William Rolle

I was finally able to drop off the original painting after I made some adjustments and chef Rolle was very excited. He's going to hang the original in the restaurant. 11x14 prints are $25 and 16x20 prints are $40. They are matted to that size. I am now able to complete credit and debit card transactions so let me know if you would like to purchase anything.

New Paintings of the Philippines

Here are a few new oil paintings, specifically of Cebu and Bohol Island. This piece to the right is a beachside cafe on Bohol. Amazing white sand and laid back people. Great new friends like Ady, Vanity, Ronan, and Junkay brought us here after spending some time on the river and the chocolate hills. An unforgettable and indescribable day.

New Paintings Showing at Luxe

Well, well, well...it has been a few months since my last post (why does that sound like the beginning of confession?) so it's time for me to get caught up on the latest happenings. I was in Cebu, Philippines for most of December, came home for the holidays then immediately flew to Chicago for another three weeks in January. I'm back in Sacramento now and was invited to do a show at the last minute at Luxe Salon and Spa at 2115 J St. here in Sacramento. I was surprised at how big the place was. My newest paintings incapsulate my trip to Cebu and Bohol Island as well as a newfound interest in portraits. This painting is a combination of both. The show will be up through the end of February. They are open until about 8:00 p.m. so go in and check out the new pieces.

New Oil of Tokyo Underground Nightclub

This 16x20 inch oil painting was inspired by a night at a secret club in Tokyo, where I attended a music industry party put on by Jon Lynch. They projected old movies on the walls and there was a group of models there in kimono. This was the night I met the band consisting of a bass player and a guy who did ikebana (Japanese flower arranging). They were charging $30 to see their rock opera. I'm not sure what kind of show that would entail, what with bass solos and violent flower arranging going on, but it's definitely something you wouldn't witness twice.

Hiatus is Over

Thanks for your patience, everyone. I took a little break from painting but I'm happy to say that I've been painting again and I'm cranking out some pretty good work. I'll take some photos and get them online soon.

I will be premiering my Sophia time lapsed video of the West Indian Girl painting this Friday at the Pecha Kucha event held at The Urban Hive. I'm looking forward to showing it.

Friday, Nov. 6th

The Urban Hive

1931 H Street
Sacramento, CA 95811

(916) 585-4483

www.theurbanhive.com

8:20-10pm

Livingston High School Silent Auction Complete

Hello,

I was in Tokyo on the day of the silent auction but I heard that the original painting brought in $800 for the program. We have also sold about 15 additional lithograph prints at $55 each. Please contact me if you are interested in purchasing one. They are high quality giclees from Sacramento Giclee on good quality paper. They are signed and numbered as well. I'm not sure what I'll paint next year but I'm already looking forward to it.

In Tokyo news, I survived two earthquakes, two typhoons, and a lot of overcast and incredibly humid days. I met some interesting characters during my painting trips, finally tallying 4 completed paintings. I've taken photos as well so I can complete a few more when I get time. Thanks to all the well wishers who kept in touch during the various storms we had to endure.

Livingston High School baseball fundraiser painting complete!

Well folks, the painting is done. I got it professionally scanned at Sacramento Giclee for signed/numbered lithographs. The big fundraiser is August 7th at Rancho Del Rey Country Club in Atwater. We welcome bids from anywhere in the world, just contact me or Matt Winton.

Price? Well, this painting is huge, framed and it took me a loooong time so we agreed to start the bidding at $300.

Current high bid = $450

If it doesn't sell I'll donate that amount and keep it for myself. Now here is where it gets interesting. We are going to make giclee lithographs through Sacramento Giclee. These will be sold, not auctioned. They are $50 (signed by yours truly!) and are roughly 16x24. Just let us know if you want one and we'll put in the order. Anybody who coughs up $50 for the LHS baseball program gets one. Spread the word to the Atwater folks as well. If you live in the area then you can pick it up from coach Winton. Mailing will cost an additional $5.00.

Sacramento Magazine Interview on News Stands Now!

I was in Starbucks yesterday with a colleague and looked down to see that the August issue was already in print so I bought a copy. I was happy with the way Jan Ferris Heenan wrote up the article. Jan came to my show at Casa Bella Galleria and had a lengthy discussion about art and world travel. At the time, I had no idea that she worked for the magazine. She and I met at Samurai Sushi and talked for over an hour so I was curious as to how all of that would be distilled down into a short article.

As I was telling a friend recently, I think this is the first article I've read about myself that was entirely accurate. My first experience with this was years ago when I read that I had been the star of a championship basketball team in South America. Ummm??? Sometimes there is no amount of linguistic legerdemain that will turn fiction into fact, but I digress.

Here is the link:

http://www.sacmag.com/media/Sacramento-Magazine/August-2009/City-Sketch-James-Patrick-Lane/

Para los hispanohablantes: Hice una entrevista con una revista aqui' en Sacramento y por fin, ya esta' de venta...perdoname, pero esta' escrito en ingles. Si tengo un poco de tiempo libre lo voy a traducir al ingles pero en general se trata de donde naci', los viajes alrededor del mundo, y el arte.

日本語：　私はサクラメント市の雑誌のインタビューをしました。　英語で書てありますですけど。。。少しひまがあったら　翻訳　を　します。　ほとうんどの書いていることは私のふるさとう、画家の人生、と　世界の旅行です。

"The Single Mom"

It's finally finished! I am dedicating this painting to single moms everywhere, but especially to my favorite single mom, Shirley Lane. It's not easy being a police officer, chef, nurse, firefighter, boxer and still have the grace to feel like a princess now and then.

I painted the crowd to display a range of emotions; some are impressed, others are fascinated, still others are confused or condescending. Unfortunately, sometimes we feel like our life is a circus and we're always on stage. Don't forget to breathe and be kind to yourself.

This painting will be shown at the Level Up Lounge in Sacramento during the month of July. Hope to see you at the Second Saturday party.

New Painting Direction

Hello again,

I have been taking a new direction in my painting and hope to have the first pieces in the series completed by the time I hang the show at the Level Up Lounge (25th and I in Sac) in preparation for the July Second Saturday art walk. I was recently interviewed by Sacramento magazine and when asked about the most difficult aspect of what I do I was honestly a bit stumped. The final answer revolved around having a voice and conveying what you want to say. A writer may have full command of the language, but still struggle with the type of story to tell.

I've been struggling to understand all of the stress associated with these bizarre economic and social times. Things seemed to have mellowed a bit compared to early 2009 but it's clear that people will be struggling for quite some time. Given the all these emotions I've begun a series of paintings that draws a parallel between various socio-economic situations and death defying circus acts. As I began studying all the different acts in a circus I was shocked at how many parallels there are between things like being a parent and juggling hats, paying bills and keeping all of those plates spinning on their sticks. The list goes on. The first painting is called, "The Single Mother."

Painting demo of West Indian Girl's Sofia

Well, here it is....finally finished it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJpOY1CAjOo

I'm happy with it.

さいごに私の新しいビデオを終わりました。ソフィアちゃんはよくでるですから。。。。ものすごく幸せです。今主奥さんと子供たちが千葉県に戻ります。じじとばば　孫の顔を見れるから。。。うれしいです。私は７月３０日に日本に行きます。