December Paintings

Koyasan, Japan, Trees in the Fall

For Lewis

3" x 3"

acrylic on wood

Trees fascinate me.  Sometimes looking up in to their long reaching limbs is the best glimpse of life. These trees are very special, they reside in a magical place called Koyasan.

 I visited the mountain of Koya about five times during the two years that we  lived in Japan.  It is one of my favorite places, any time of year.

"The grand scale of temples and shrines that sit at the peak creates an unbelievably austere ambiance that will make you feel like you have stumbled into a totally different world. The religious site of Koyasan, located at the peak of the mountain, has an elevation of 800 meters and 1,200 years of history. " from this site
http://www.wakayama-kanko.or.jp/world/english/world-heritage/koyasan.html

Koyasan Temple Stay

Snow in Tree
pencil in sketchbook

Renegejoin Temple in Koyasan is one of our favorite places in Japan. We stayed there again for a weekend in February just to see the snow. The temple is stunning in any season. I gave myself ten minutes to work on this one after warming up with other sketches. I wanted to render snow without anything behind it in order to indicate the tree's isolation.

Sketch of Middle Rock Garden with Shadow
pencil in sketchbook

This sketch was done from across our room in order to frame a section in the windows.
I sat under the kotatsu (heated table) and tried to see the white on white while the snow continued to fall.

Sketch of Middle Rock Garden
pencil in sketchbook

On our second night, we had a wonderful large room that overlooked the central rock garden. Since it was so cold and snowed all weekend, the stillness was mesmerizing. It was difficult to find the difference between the snow and the branches.

Bird Resting
pencil in sketchbook

There were many screens and doors with paintings in the temple. This sketch was done in our room on the second night. We made voices for many of the birds, they all seemed to have flamboyant personalities, especially the ones with the red feet.

Sketch for Rock Garden stamp
pencil in sketchbook

This is a small sketch of the front rock garden. Idea for stamp making.

Drawings from Koyasan

Okunoin Study

pen on paper

While walking through the famous graveyard, Okunoin in Koyasan, I took some time to do some sketching. The day was great for taking photographs too. The graveyard is about 2 kilometers long and has some interesting sites throughout.

River Scene Study II at Takahara

pen on paper

Pyar and I spent time at the river on Saturday, November 20 at Takahara. It is a short walk from the Bed and Breakfast where we spent my wonderful birthday celebration weekend.

River Scene Study at Takahara

pen on paper

Study of Rocks at Okunoin, Koyasan

pen on paper