WATERFALL
ACRYLICS ON CEDAR W/RED OAK FRAME
SUMMER 2021

     It’s the middle of summer, and it is HOT!  Living in the Pacific Northwest for over 40 years, we have been spoiled by past summers with moderate temperatures, often in the 60s or 70s, but I am afraid those days are gone as climate change rears its ugly head.  The June 2021 extreme heat event was troubling for those of us who have previously had no need of air conditioning, and this has forced us to find creative ways to stay cool.  There is a Japanese cultural approach to staying cool, a concept called noryo, which is a method of cooling down by using nature and the five senses. This time-honored tradition is an act of associating with things that can make you feel refreshed in the sweltering summer heat. This concept inspired me to paint a waterfall scene as a way of keeping cool this summer.  The act of painting made me think of Marymere Falls by Lake Crescent, a location that I have enjoyed visiting in the past.  I can imagine the sound of the falling water and the cooling mists and spray created by the falls as I look at the finished painting.  My design for this piece was inspired by several ukiyo-e prints by Katsushika Hokusai and others.  Kiyoshi Saito’s print Shisen-do, Kyoto acted as inspiration for my moss-covered rocks, and I used the Rimpa school technique of tarashikome for the bare rocks.  I made the frame for this painting 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:  22 ½ inches
                                  WIDTH:  14 inches

                                                          PRICE $500

Hokusai--Kirifuri Waterfall at Mt. Kurokami in Shimotsuke Province

kiyoshi saito shisen-do, kyoto

Gary Giovane
La Conner, WA
gioart13@yahoo.com