THE SPIRIT OF FALLEN CAMELLIAS
ACRYLICS ON CEDAR W/RED OAK FRAME
SPRING 2021

     I wish we could someday visit Hanajiri-no-mori forest in Ohara, just north of Kyoto.  In early spring, the camellia blossoms fall from the trees to carpet the moss-covered forest floor, The contrast between the ruby red of the blossoms and the emerald green of the moss must be spectacular to see in person.  Photos of this special place and time inspired this painting (see Katsuhiko, Mizuno, Masterpieces of Japanese Garden Art: #3 Central & Northern Kyoto, ©1992, image #18).  Not one for a bucket list, I may never get the chance to visit there, but I felt as if I were under those camellia trees while painting each blossom.  Stylistically speaking, I was influenced by two of my favorite Japanese artists: Tawaraya Sotatsu and Kiyoshi Saito.  Sotatsu’s early 17th century screen Narrow Ivy Path and sosaku-hanga printmaker Kiyoshi Saito’s 1971 print Shisen-do Temple, Kyoto both influenced the color choice and composition of my painting.  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:  19 ½ inches
                                  WIDTH:  16 inches

                                                                 PRICE $475

Hanajiri-no-mori forest in Ohara

Kiyoshi Saito: (1971) Shisen-do Temple, Kyoto

Sotatsu: Narrow Ivy Path--left side

Sotatsu: Narrow Ivy Path--right side