This is my last year in Japan, and I planned to make the most of the Sakura this year. Last year, the season was rained short. This year it was 'sunned' short. It was so hot over the season that the blooms opened from tightly closed buds to full blooms within a day, in some places. After a week or so, the petals had all but fallen. All was left were the red empty stems before the green leaves would uncurl through. My son had his Easter break over the two weeks, so we spent ma

I'm always amazed when looking at the stars. I love viewing other photographers' Milky Way shots. I went on a night photography trip to shoot the Milky Way above Mount Fuji. While my photos were alright, they fell so short to the splendor of the night sky above me. I shared a few of my night sky photos on my Facebook page, and shortly after doing so I was approached to do a painting commission based on the photo posted. A large painting. Well, pretty large for me. 24 x 36 inc

For the last month and a half, I've been working on a triptych. Three different sized paintings of a beach scene. The scene is the beach with the red Torii gate on the rocks. These paintings were studied from a panoramic photograph taken at Shimoda, Shizuoka Peninsula, Japan sometime last year. My client commissioned me to transform the panoramic photo into a triptych scene across three different sized canvases. From left to right, we have 14 x 18 inches, 12 x 24 inches, and

With a break in Arts and Craft fairs for at least a few months, and my most recent commissions completed, I’ve started the sketching for several paintings. I’m working on a watercolor painting to add to People Being Series. This one will be of South Korea. Two girls in yellow hanbok dresses with dark blue sashes. The wind that day means there is lots of movement and fluttering. The girls were part of the Jindo Sea Parting (Moses Miracle) festival in 2008. I put them into a ba

I have really enjoyed this series. My little 3 x 5 inches watercolor paintings; completed within 20-30 minutes. They have been very popular, and subsequently, I only have one or two unsold, at this point! I am painting more, though. I want to share with you some of the framed completed paintings, and my most recently painted ones. Fuji Views: Blue Line Mountains 2016 Fuji Views: Fuji View 2016 Fuji Views: Tree And Sunset Mountain 2016 And here's some (now) sold paintings in t

Please enjoy the newest edition to my Photo Montage Travel Art Pieces: a tribute to my time in the Azores; predominantly Terceira with features of Sao Miguel. After spending a year in the Azores, primarily on the island of Terceira, I have been working on montage pieces to capture the essence of the island. Tiles are huge in the Azores. Most houses have their family name and/or a patron saint displayed on the wall of their house; made up of 6 to 8 bathroom/kitcken sized squar

Our apartment windows host views of Mt. Fuji most clear days, and it is such a privilege. I understand the reverence many Japanese people have for this most beautiful mountain. I call these waves of blue mountains the 'mirage mountains' for some days there are layers and layers of rolling mountain range, and other days I can barely see the other side of the runway (we live near a runway FYI). It makes viewing them all the more poignant, and I make the time to stop and appreci