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Mar 8, 20222 min read
Of Gods and Cats
I recently painted two cats on gold leaf with mineral pigment. In composition I wanted them to mirror each other like the Gods of Wind...
Feb 18, 20224 min read
'Nanban' Screens: Trade and Art in Japan
Southern Barbarians Come to Trade Foreign traders and Japanese merchants interact with one another. Goods are inspected and money changes...
Jan 31, 20226 min read
A Selection of Elephants in Edo Period Art
For me, elephants are an obsession. I have always loved them from my earliest memory. So what better way to discuss elephants than in the...
Jan 27, 20229 min read
Hokusai's People: The Life of a Labourer in Edo
Hokusai is well known for depicting the lives of ordinary people in his drawings and prints, but what do his artworks tell us about those...
Jan 19, 20228 min read
Learning from Hokusai
The influence of Hokusai on subsequent artists is truly huge; ranging from Degas, Van Gogh, Klimt, Picasso (he loved the octopus and...
Jan 17, 20224 min read
Dragon’s Blood Powder and Lapis Lazuli: How to Use Pigments
A major part of traditional Japanese and Chinese painting is the use of mineral pigments. Nowadays, colours and paint can be made...
Jan 14, 20223 min read
Painting Cats: Foujita, Goyo, and Me
There are two main artistic influences on my cat paintings: Hashiguchi Goyo (1880-1921) and Tsuguharu Foujita (1886-1968). In this post,...
Jan 13, 20225 min read
Sizing Paper
Sizing paper in the context I’m going to discuss isn’t about measuring the size, but rather applying a ‘sizing’ solution (usually some...
Nov 22, 20213 min read
Ogata Korin and Me
Welcome to my first blog post! The aim of this blog is to share with you my academic interest in Japanese and Chinese art history...
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