MAPLE LEAVES IN THE STREAM
ACRYLICS ON CEDAR W/RED OAK FRAME
SUMMER 2019

     For centuries, the Japanese fan has provided a “canvas” for many exceptional artists, from Sotatsu to Hokusai.  Recently I was introduced to a series of woodblock prints showing fan designs from Ogata Korin and other Rinpa artists, and they inspired me to begin a series of small paintings based on the Japanese fan, for which I have chosen to use textile designs as the backgrounds.  This is my second painting of the series and includes design elements representing autumn when the leaves begin to change colors and gently fall to earth.  Maple leaves carried away by running water is an often-used theme related to the autumn season which, along with the spring, is so evocative to many of us.  The simplicity of the painted fan is made to counterbalance the complexity of the textile-based background.  I made the frame out of red oak using pegged, hand-joined, mortise-and-tenon construction methods.  I used the Japanese technique (shou-sugi-ban) of charring and oiling the oak to finish the frame.
 
DIMENSIONS:           HEIGHT:  10 ¼ inches
                                    WIDTH:  18 inches

                                                        SOLD