Monet-Inspired Collection

I remember looking through picture books as a child and feeling mesmerized by the swirly goodness that is Monet. A decade later and a continent away, that admiration transformed into adoration at Paris' Musée de l'Orangerie, where eight enormous water lily paintings wrap around two round rooms. The effect is breathtaking to say the least, and I left determined to learn from this master of capturing water and light. Though a sad replication of said master, my feeble beginnings on three small canvases (about the size of sheets of paper) gave me a better feel of what it must have been like to create magic on such a large scale. 

Japanese Garden Collection

Since I was home for less than a month last summer, I couldn't get a job... so this is what I did instead. My first collection consists of five pieces, all depicting Japanese scenes at temples and gardens in Tokyo and Kyoto. I tried my best not to just paint what I had seen, but to capture the unbelievable tranquility and vibrance - green, somehow, seems like a different color in Japan.

These three paintings are of Koishikawa Koen in in Iidabashi, Tokyo (if you read my travel blog, this was the park I went to while I had terrible food poisoning.... it was gorgeous despite the pain!)

8' x 10'

18 x 24

18 x 24

These two are of Kyoto:

8 x 10

8 x 10

Several of these paintings (in particular the larger ones) are still available for purchase! I am working on finding them a temporary home in one of Ann Arbor's many excellent Japanese restaurants, where they will get a lot more exposure than they are currently getting in my house (although my family assures me that they are much appreciated).

I am planning on doing my biggest painting yet this break - a 24 x 36! Stay posted!