Sinjo Junior High School Ball Field

Tree Study on Ball Field at Sinjo J.H.S.
ink

I am honored to have the opportunity to visit my schools in Tanabe each month. I was at Sinjo J.H.S. May 11 and 12. After lunch on Tuesday, Goto Sensei and a student were practicing pitching for baseball. The student is amazing. It was a joy to watch them and enjoy the beautiful spring day. Shintani Sensei encouraged me to explore the campus during my last visit and so this time, on Wednesday, I took a walk around and found this very interesting tree.

Nakehechi Hike along Kumano Kodo

Nakehechi Study (along Kumano Kodo)
ink

We went on a hike Sunday May 9 with TIEGA. This is my second hike with the group, Tanabe International English Guide Association. The people are amazing, the comradery is priceless and the view is breathtaking. This is the area with the ancient trees and straw roofed tea house/museum. There is also a natural spring for drinking some of Japan's best water.
I am so grateful to live in Tanabe.

Pheasant for Yasuko san

Kiji for Yasuko san
watercolor

This is a watercolor sketch of Tanabe's pheasant, the kiji. Last weekend, our friends Yasuko san and Sayaka san invited us to see a park in Shirahama. The roses are in full bloom there now and it was a lovely morning walk together. Along the road before arriving, a kiji walked in front of the car. It has beautiful coloring. Pyar says it looks just like the ones in the States.

Painting for Takumi and studies

Among Friends
mixed media on wood
20cm x 20cm

A painting for Takumi. He is a blossom among the people he touches. This painting is symbolic of both Takumi and Theo. I am honored to be touched by both of them.

Circle in Blue
mixed media
10cm x 10cm

This is a painting that began as a study for Among Friends. Due to our new location and language, I am having to modify my studio practices to accommodate the supply of art materials that I can find here in Tanabe. I really was not certain how some would support or react to each other, so this study began.

Maru
mixed media on wood
10cm x 10cm

Maru is Japanese for circle. I painted the hiragana in sumi to see if it would bind to the acrylic. This painting like Circle in Blue was a study for Among Friends.

Thank you notes

for Yuki and Yoshihiro
watercolor

Yuki and her husband Yoshihiro gave us a bag of the most delicious oranges the other day. I am not sure what variety they are called, but delicious comes to mind. Yoshihiro is a farmer in the area and graciously gives his fruits to friends and family. We were also blessed with some of Yoshihiro's friends local honey. I made biscuits the next day.

for Sawabe san
watercolor

Sawabe's family has farms in Tanabe and we are blessed with many of their fruits. This variety is the kind with the thicker skin and an almost grapefruit flavor. If you peel it just right it is the best afternoon treat.

for Obasan
watercolor

Atsuko's Mom is a lovely woman. We enjoyed lunch and a BBQ at their home May 2. While we were sitting at the kitchen table we noticed a butterfly outside the window and I noticed our her eyes lit up, this is a simple thank you for her.

Koi no bori

Koi no bori at Akihei
pencil

We had lunch at our favorite Japanese restaurant, Akihei on May 1. Our friend Kennis is the owner with her husband's family. The food is wonderful. She explained to us about the
Koi no bori for children's day. Each koi is symbolic of a member of the family. This is the one that was hanging in front of their restaurant and home. The top one is striped in color. I plan to do one in watercolor since the colors are so amazing.

Golden Week - drawing outside

Waterfalls at Akizugawa with Dragonfly
ink on paper

Pyar and I went exploring on our bicycles to the river near one of my schools. This spot is looking down from a rock onto a place where there were three small waterfalls. The dragonflies would fly around and land for a few moments, I tried to draw one several times. So, here I added an attempt of capturing the dragonfly with the water along the rocks. This was almost an hour of drawing on location, once home, I used a brush to move the ink around and make the water surface.

Bridge at River Study
ink and pencil on paper

This is from the same spot I drew Waterfalls at Akizugawa with Dragonfly. For this study, I was looking up at the red bridge. My view was breathtaking and a difficult study to capture the moment. Occasionally a family or some people would walk along the bridge to view the bigger waterfall and springs. This area is one of our favorite places.

Strawberry Etegami in Watercolor

Strawberry for Sawabe
watercolor
This is the same drawing with watercolor. The next stage is with the lettering in ink.

Bicycle Friends

Bicycle Friends Panda

Bicycle Friends Seal

Bicycle Friends Hippo