Watercolor Sketch, Kawadoko: Dessert Above the Kibune River, Japan

This is such a simple sketch but has such fond meaning and memories for me.  When visiting Kyoto. My daughter and I took a day trip to the northern mountains to the villages of Kurama and Kibune.  Fist we took the train to Kurama and enjoyed time in a traditional japanese onsen, a public bathing house, fed by hot springs.  We were the only non Japanese there but we felt right at home soaking in the outdoor tub under the forest canopy.  There are a number of rituals one must partake in before entering the tub.  Since language was a definite barrier here, we relied on what we had seen in the Miyazaki film, My NeighborTotoro, which is one of our favorites, for clues to the preparation before entering the big bath!

Forest from Kurama to Kibune

After a relaxing soak we continued on into the forest to hike the trail to Kibune.  The walk took several hours but was not strenuous.  The forest was magical.  There are a number of small temples and shrines to take a rest and reflect on the beauty of this place.  We reached Kibune in the late afternoon and scoped out the restaurants and made reservations for dinner.  Kibune is a small village nestled right in the forest along the Kibune River.  In the summer the restaurants place covered platforms above the river for dining and it flows beneath you as you dine Japanese style inches above the water.  This is knows as kawadoko.

Restaurant platforms above the Kibune River-Kawadoko

One of our courses during our kaiseki meal

After visiting the Kibune Shrine we settled into our spot for dinner.  We were served a kaiseki meal, which is a multi course meal of a variety of Japanese delicacies.  Between courses we could lean over to the side of the platform and dip our feet into the cool rushing water below, nice after a day of hiking!  When we were served dessert, this simple piece of melon, I did this watercolor sketch.  The whole day was such an amazing experience.  I will never forget it and I have my sketch to take me right back there!

Lanterns above a dining area

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Watercolor Sketch, Kyoto Treat

My daughter and I had walked the Path of Philosophy, from the Ginkaku-Ji Temple to the Eikan-do and Nanzen-ji Temples, and stopped at an outdoor cafe for a green tea soft serve ice cream.  I adore green tea and anything made with matcha, (the powdered form of green tea).  Where I have had green tea ice cream at Japanese restaurants in the States, it is rare to find it soft serve.  I’m embarrassed to say, or maybe not, that I had one of these cones every single day I was in Kyoto.  As I was sketching at the table, the owner of the cafe came out and presented me with one of her name cards, which I attached in my book.  This one had to be quick before it melted all over my daughter's hand!

Path of Philosophy during cherry blossom viewing season, Kyoto Japan

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Watercolor Sketch From Kyoto Japan

The summer we lived in Hong Kong, my daughter and I took a girls trip together to Kyoto Japan. We had been the previous April during Cherry Blossom season and fell in love with Kyoto.  We went back to explore other areas we didn’t get a chance to visit.  Gio Ji Temple in the Arashiyama area is such a charming, peaceful place.  Almost the entire grounds are carpeted with the most beautiful green moss.  I did this sketch sitting along one of the tiny paths, while my daughter played with the temple cat.

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Watercolor Sketching

I dabbled with watercolor sketching, but really fell in love with it when I lived in Hong Kong.  I had so much wonderful subject matter around me andI wanted to try plein air painting, so I started going out on location and painting in my watercolor sketch book.  The major thing I learned after I started doing itwas, it took away the intimidation of doing a painting in watercolor.  Sometimes I would sit in the studio and look at a big piece of white paper and wonder if I was going to pulloff something I was going to be happy with.  Even though artists shouldn’t get caught up in that way of thinking, that everything we do has to be a winner because it always isn’t!  After all it’s just paper and paint, but I think deep down we always want to be happy with what we create at the end of the day.

Watercolor sketching is a wonderful thing to do for so many reasons:

• Sketching forces you to be quick and not over think things.
• It forces you to simplify what you are seeing in the environment and not get caught up in the details.
• It gave me a chance to feel more comfortable with the medium and took away the intimidation when I did do larger works in the studio.
• If you do it plein air, it’s great to be out in nature or really soak in the sights and sounds of a place, much better than a quick photo.
• Gives you a lasting memory of a moment in time when you were enjoying the act of painting.
• Sketches can be used to develop bigger paintings.
• Great way to meet people or connect with other artists if you go out together.
• My watercolor sketch books go with me when ever I travel.  Your sketch books becomesa treasure of meaningful memories.

In future posts I will talk about my materials and share some of my sketches.  I hope it inspires you to try it!

This sketch was done at the Lama Temple in Beijing.  I had a nice older chinese gentlemen sit down next to me on the bench while I worked on this sketch.  We talked about a variety of things.  I will never forget it!

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Kyoto Sonae-Mono (Offering)

Kyoto, Japan is one of my favorite places on earth. It is a place I long to go to again and again. This painting Kyoto Sonae-mono is from an offering I saw at one of the many temples in this lovely city. Sonae-mono means offering.

This painting was painted using only 3 primary colors, French Ultramarine Blue, Aureolin Yellow and Permanent Rose, plus an American Journey color called Mint Julep which is semi opaque.  This was a great exercise in mixing  all the color I needed from the basics!

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Banana and Peanut Seller

Keeping with the banana theme, this time an oil.  This sweet older lady and her daughter sold only bananas and peanuts in the shell at a corner stall in the Soho area of Hong Kong.  She weighed your bananas on an old fashioned counter weight scale. One of my favorite past times while living in Hong Kong was wondering the many outdoor markets. The colors and all the fantastic asian fruits and vegetables were such an inspiration.  However, the seafood and meat sections were not for the squeamish!

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Hong Kong Gatekeeper

While living in Hong Kong I was so intrigued by the Chinese temples and visited quite a few of them in the area.  I was doing a sketch in the Man Mo temple on Hong Kong Island one day and the incense from the huge incense coils made my eyes burn and by the time I left I reeked of smoke.  One thing that was ubiquitous was the ornate lion head brass door pulls on the entrances to the temples.  Because I'm usually honing in on the details, I have quite a few photos of these and did many sketches of them on site.

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Sketching at the Musee Guimet

Even before I lived in Hong Kong, I've had for quite some time, an affinity for Asian cultures.  I love the food, art, and many of the customs.  One of my favorite museums in Paris is the Musee Guimet.  It is the largest collection of Asian art and artifacts in Europe.  I didn't live too far from there, just a couple of Metro stops. I became a member so that I could go and sketch as often as I wanted to.  It was a nice way to spend a cold winter's day!

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