A sketch....

I've decided to do a seasonal series. First is Winter, 8x10. It will be all blue and cool colors. The object kitty is admiring is a kind of straw covering to protect peonies from the snow. I know it's a little early but if you're intrested in purchase please contact me at rbmouss@mts.net. Of course, there will be three more pictures in the series!
=(^..^)=

Japanese links list.

Here's my newest online "toy". It's a site that compiles your favorite links for you. I'll be adding links here almost daily for a while, so check it out if you're interested in Japanese culture. I'll be posting stuff on art, kimono, food, and culture, with a couple of other fun things. Best of all, I won't be losing all my links next time my computer crashes, they'll still all be online for me!

Click here for Japanese fun!

New ACEO

New card painting - Hagoita.
Click here for the ebay auction.

New artwork!

Here's a new ACEO for those of you who requested something non-Japanese for a change.Click here for the ebay auction.

Perfect for mother's day!

Cafepress merchandise...

I think I forgot to post links to these two designs at cafepress. Lots of cool stuff like tees and magnets, and gifts like mugs and notecards!

"Fuurin" (wind chime)


and - "Hanami" (cherry blossom viewing)

An old commission...

Boy, I started this one over a year ago. With the way things have been going, I just couldn't seem to finish it. The lady that commissioned it had bought my "inudoshi", and wanted a companion piece to go with it. She emailed me off and on over the past year, and finally I got around to finishing it. Both paintings are 5 x 3 inches. I should mention, these are in a different style than I'm currently working in. Here's the first one:



And the second one to match:





The kanji on the first one is the kanji associated with "year of the dog" in the Chinese/Japanese zodiac, and the kanji on the second one is simply "dog" (inu). The dogs are shiba inus, a Japanese breed.

Mini Kimono lesson...

One of my pet peeves when I see pictures of kimonos originating in the west is "hidari mae", or wearing the kimono with the right side lapped over the left. Kimono are always worn with the left collar lapped over the right, except on a corpse. The term "hidari mae" is also a colloquial expression meaning ebbing fortune or people facing bankruptcy. So it is very unlucky to wear your kimono "hidari mae", and certainly would give a Japanese person a sense of discomfort to see it!

The custom originated in the Nara period in the seventh century, when the Japanese court began to follow the Chinese fashion. For a while there was some confusion with people wearing their collars the old-fashioned way, or the Chinese way. Emperor Gensho (715-724) eventually unified the system of measures, and brought about many regulations, one of which was to conventionalize the method of dress - and from that time Japanese people wear their kimono left side over right.

This isn't a mistake a native Japanese person would make, but with the popularity of Japanese art and culture, many artists (including myself, occasionally) make the mistake and draw the collars incorrectly. There are a lot of people who enjoy dressing in kimono as a hobby, and often get this little detail wrong. I've seen it so many times, and every time it's just as jarring to my eyes.

A couple of examples:
This first from a fabric company. I've noticed that a lot of ukiyoe inspired fabric is offen drawn incorrectly. Actually, this first example is very cute, but barely recognizable as Japanese.

Second, from a book cover. Yes, I've read this book, but I wouldn't recommend it.

I've noticed the same thing with kanji, because often westerners can't tell which way the kanji should be, and seem to abitrarily flip their photots and post them any which way!

The Dance Lesson

Whew - I finally got this finished. It was worth taking the time - I'm thrilled with it, and the kimono turned out beautifully. Mom is dressed as an Edo era Geisha. Her kimono has a checked pattern with Sakura (Cherry blossoms) on it. Checks and geometric patterns were quite popular during this era. Her little kitten is dressed as a Kamuro, a kind of maid and courtesan-in-training. The butterflies are inspired by two butterflies from an ukiyoe of kabuki actors. I couldn't resist adding this little detail - I think they add a lot of whimsy and a sense of energy to the painting. This painting is available on ebay now - please click here!



Closeups:

Happy Easter Everyone!

I'm about an hour away from heading over to my parent's for a feast, but I thought I'd make a quick post just in case anyone's wondering why I'm so quiet. This week I should have much more artwork up - the last couple of weeks have been pretty hectic at work, with a lot of little unexpected hours thrown in here and there (as in, no lunch breaks and staying late!). So I've been pretty tired. We're working on our yard too, making the garden larger (I'm not doing without home grown beans and home made salsa this year) and cleaning up in general. The past three nights we've had a bonfire, just burning up scrap wood the previous owners left behind.

The weather here is fantastic, and I have the day off tomorrow - this should be a great week! So, happy Easter everyone! Don't eat too much, and have fun!

WIP

I haven't been posting much artwork this week, but I have been working. It's been chaos here because we're painting our kitchen, and with three different colors to work on (yellow walls, blue and white cupboards - very french country) it's been hard to get any work done. But I am working on my dance lesson painting. Aren't the butterflies cute? I saw them in an Ukiyoe of a kabuki scene, and I just had to use them.

Something for spring...

Here's a colored pencil painting I did in 2003. It's been hanging in my living room but it doesn't fit my decor anymore, so I'm willing to sell it. I'd rather not go through the hassle of ebay, so if you're interested contact me directly at rbmouss@mts.net. It's 11x8, with a white border around. Prisma color pencils on Stonehenge paper which is quite thick, almost like cardstock. Price is $160us, which includes shipping. Please contact me if you want any more info, including closeps.


I've also put this design on merchandise at my Cafepress store. There's a lot of gifts there that are perfect for Mother's day - totes, cards, ornaments, mugs and lots more. Click here to visit the store!

Ending tomorrow....

ending tomorrow: "Shichigosan"



In case you miss out on this one, the design is also available on merchandise in my cafepress store: Shichigosan mugs, tees, magnets, and lots more - click here!

New ACEO

A new boy - this guy is named "Ronin". Ronin is a masterless Samurai, but is also used as a boy's name in Japan.
Ebay Auction here: Ronin



I'm very happy with the way he looks - I think I'll be branching out into different breeds of cats!