Successful Art Reception and Open House

"Bamboo"
Japanese brush painting, ink on paper
 

"Senkyoro View"
Japanese brush painting, ink on paper

"December at Wilder Ranch"
Watercolor

"Sailor's Warning on a Foggy Morning
Watercolor 

Here are some of the paintings sold at my art reception and open house. We had a terrific gathering of people Friday night. After coming back from Japan with a brush that I purchased in a tiny store in Kyoto, I wanted to try brush painting with Sumi ink. A few minutes on YouTube turned up some videos on how to do that. I then tackled the two top pieces. Interestingly, they were the second and fourth pieces that sold.

Additionally, my drawing instructor who is an amazing artist, purchased the Wilder Ranch painting. I always cringe when I think of inviting my accomplished instructor to a show, but he was most complimentary.

My plein air pieces are often well received. Perhaps the fact that I am right out in the elements and have to work fast brings an amount of excitement to the pieces. Both Wilder Ranch and Sailor's Warning were done in plein air sessions.

An attendee has contacted me about purchasing one of my collages. More on that to come when the sale is complete.

Here are a few photos of the home gallery, by no means all that were on display:

 

 

 



Japanese Room with a View: Active Mountains

Journal Cover Sheet

 

Room with a View: Misty Morning at Senkyoro

My journal cover sheet was inspired by a beautiful screen at a traditional restaurant at the New Otani Hotel in Tokyo. The Japanese characters spell Japan. The flower is in honor of the beautiful gardens, which mostly do not showcase flowers, but rather water, earth, rock, gravel, and gorgeous plants.

We spent two nights at Senkyoro, a traditional inn mentioned in the previous post. I awakened on the first morning to a beautiful view from our living area. The mist was floating in the valley, and the gardens were a mass of shapes, and some fall color.

While at the inn, we decided to venture out with our 3-day bus pass. The mountain towns have an amazing number of buses to take you where you want to go. We took the bus to Gora where we boarded the Hakone Tozan Railway, a unique local transit that does switchbacks in order to descend the steep mountains to the town of Hakone. We also took the funicular up Mount Hakone, but due to two eruptions last summer, we could not continue on cable cars to the top of the mountain. At the lookout, the smell of sulphur was very strong from the active cauldron.

From the train we saw the marvelous Hakone Open Air Museum, so on our way back we stopped and visited it. Gorgeous grounds were home to beautiful sculptures by artists from all over the world. This was definitely the  highlight of the day for Susan and I. Bob would probably more recall the railroad and funicular.

After another amazing Japanese 12-course dinner, we slept soundly. The following morning we reversed our journey to Tokyo where we were to meet up with our small tour group and guide Toshi to visit gardens, shrines, and temples.

Japan Trip Inspires Brush Paintings

"Bamboo in the Garden"
5" x 7" Japanese Brush Painting
Ink on Watercolor Paper

a

"Senkyoro View"
8" x 10" Japanese Brush Painting
Ink on Watercolor Paper



Bob and I visited Japan for 16 days in November, a wonderful time to enjoy gardens and the colorful foliage. My friend and fellow artist, Susan, went with us. For 5 days we traveled on our own and then joined a Coopersmith Garden Tour in Tokyo. In honor of that trip I have been trying out my new Japanese brush that I purchased in Kyoto. After watching a few YouTube videos, I tried my hand at ink paintings. There is much to learn, but it is amazing what you can do with a single brush. I also want to do some work on Washi paper that I bought from a lovely paper store near our Kyoto hotel after I feel a bit more confident.

The first painting is an homage to the many gardens that contained bamboo. The gardens are so amazing there, and as I show you a few travel sketches in the next couple of posts, you will see what I mean. The Japanese culture emphasizes purity of design. The second painting was made from my watercolor sketch and photos I took while visiting a traditional inn in the region of Hakone National Park. Getting there was exciting. We had some instructions, tickets, and reservations. None of us speak Japanese. We first took one of their sleek bullet trains to Odwara Station where we exited and located a local bus. We had our destination, Senkyoro Inn, written in Japanese by the Otani Hotel staff in Tokyo. That really helped, as did the English translations on the destination electronics on the train and bus.

The traditional inn was top notch. I read all about the etiquette. No shoes on the tatami mat, and special slippers for the rest of the inn. We all wore the traditional Yukata while indoors.

 



 We ate traditional food for dinner. Gorgeously presented, beautiful pottery and china, and many things we had never eaten. It was a culinary adventure.

Bob and I loved our suite of rooms. Here you are looking from the entry across a room into a long narrow room with a view of the mountains. To the left was the equivalent of our livingroom. Here they laid out the futons on the floor for the night while we had dinner. They removed them in the morning while we had our Western breakfast. They were amazingly comfortable, though we probably weren't the most graceful getting in out in the middle of the night. The inn featured natural hot spring fed baths. My friend Susan and I took one bath in the women's section. Then Bob and I rented a private bath for couples.

Stay tuned for more Japan sketches and photos.

Art Open House

“Perfect Match”

12” x 16” Collage on Canvas

“Mendenhall Glacier”

6” x 8” watercolor, matted and framed to 8”x 10”

 

 

An invitation to my open house. The art is hung and ready to go.

 

ART OPEN HOUSE

The Art of Place: Contemporary Life in Collage and Watermedia

Saturday, January 30

11 am to 4 pm

173 Giddings Court

San Jose, CA 95139

 

               Landscapes, people, and cherished objects in watermedia or magazine collage on canvas

Original Works from 6” x 8” to 36” x 36”

and

Items imprinted with art images

By

 Fine Artist Mary Paquet

 

 

 

*Visa, Mastercard, cash or checks are accepted should you choose to make a purchase