The Parable of the Blind Men and the Elephant: A Modern Reflection
In a time when information is more accessible than ever, the ancient parable of the blind men and the elephant has never been more...
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Jul 73 min read
Rembrandt and Japan
Rembrandt van Rijn, one of the most celebrated artists of the Dutch Golden Age, is renowned for his masterful use of light and shadow, as...
Mar 102 min read
Mr Hayashi's Elephant: Creativity and Friendship
Creativity, at its core, is about sharing one's vision with the world. When a maker creates, they share their emotions, whether it's joy...
Jan 36 min read
Exploring the Artistic Legacy of Hokusai in Tokyo
Since 2019, a desire to travel to Japan had been festering within me. With the pandemic this desire grew only stronger as it was delayed...
Jan 6, 20232 min read
36 Views of the BT Tower: Kites of Primrose Hill and Fukuroi
As manager of my own website, I can tell from online traffic which designs are more popular than others. Sometimes I understand why a...
Dec 31, 20223 min read
36 Views of the BT Tower: Fireworks on the Thames and Sumida Rivers
As we approach the New Year, I felt it was appropriate to discuss my design of new year fireworks on the Thames and Hiroshige's...
Jul 1, 20223 min read
The Lego 'Nanban' Ship of Fools
All art is a self-portrait, and this painting of a ship on gold leaf in mineral pigments is no different. It has a lot within to unpack...
Jun 27, 20223 min read
Noh Performance and Ogata Korin's Painting
I recently had the opportunity to see Noh being performed in London. Noh is one of the oldest continous forms of theatre in the world...
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 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 24, 20225 min read
In Praise of Gold: Using Gold Leaf
Junichiro Tanizaki (1886-1965) once wrote an aesthetic treatise titled 'In Praise of Shadows'. The essay discusses traditional Japanese...
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...
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