We are just a group of retired spooks that discuss things that you’ll not find anywhere else. It makes us unique. Take a look around. Learn a thing or two.
Normally, digital art doesn’t really do anything for me. But this art is different. Please kindly enjoy his work. I hope it makes you feel clean, and new, and reminds you of special times, like it does for me.
It speaks to me; my God, it really, really does.
Sam Yang is a digital artist. He lives in Toronto. He has a Youtube channel, an Instagram account and a patrean account. He draws digitally. That guy focused more on the characters.
Although he is quite young, he makes great drawings that can be used in many places! His talent is at an uncommon value. His drawings can be used in many areas such as computer games and animes. He has a youtube channel. And he shares the stages of his drawings on this channel. Thus, it sets an example for people who are interested in drawing like him. This generosity he has done also gives him a reputation!
I love his art. It’s special and he has real skill.
It speaks to me. It takes me to other places, and carries me away. That is special, and unique. And thus, I present this here. I hope that you have enjoyed this article.
Do you want more?
I have more articles like this one in my Art Index here…
You’ll not find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you because I just don’t care to.
I woke up today, only to find my “news” feeds all stuffed up with a most amazing psyops campaign. Wow! I’ll tell youse guys, it’s really impressive. They must have unleashed every free ‘bot they could get their hands on. Jeeze!
According to the “news”, Russia is deeply regretting invading the Ukraine and trying to fight the forces of “democracy”, with little old grandmothers fighting to protect their cabbage patches, and fields littered with the carcasses of destroyed Russian armor.
“The same pilot who shot down six Russian warplanes, he was nicknamed the ‘Ghost of Kiev”. “A column of scorched Russian equipment near Konotop”. “Snake Island recaptured”. Such messages have quickly gone viral on Russian-language telegram channels, which are a major source of information for the world media.
The impression is that Russia has already lost the war and its last reserve are Kadyrov’s 10,000 guards, an army of absolute evil, who lined up outside the Chechen leader’s gloomy palace, preparing to be sent to Ukraine. Well, it also looks like Russia has lost the war, the war of fake news.The first time Ukrainian telegram channels were caught in a lie was on the morning of February 24, just a few hours after the war broke out, when they started spreading photographs of the first Russian tanks knocked out by the Ukrainian military.
It soon transpired, however, that the snapshots had been taken in Syria and were several years old, yet the unverified information about Russian losses had already been picked up by the media.
The fact is that the Russians had unwittingly played into the hands of the Ukrainian PR people.
The Russians advance in mobile, self-directed columns. Therefore, if a vehicle breaks down (the cruising range of a tank or infantry fighting vehicle is several times shorter than that of a civilian jeep), they simply abandon it, because they have to move fast.
Before long, the photos of the abandoned tank or APC appear on Ukrainian messenger services and in social networks as a “destroyed tank of the invaders.”
-Batko Milacic
Who are “they”?
“They” of course, is the United States DoD who is running this proxy war against Russia. Make no mistake about that. So the USA got what it wanted. The USA is fighting Russia, and it is doing so where they planned, and engaging it in such a way to become a long-drawn-out war.
It’s not going to be one. So don’t worry.
Now, you can go on the internet and read all about the brave Ukrainians, but Jeeze!, it’s all disinfo. I’m sure the well-armed, and well-dug-in neo-Nazi forces are fighting heroically. But they will be overwhelmed. The timetable is in motion, and the clock is ticking and things are going according to plan, so don’t worry about it.
Let others chat about that.
We’ve got better things to do.
I just got a comment from a Korean who is living in the High Desert of California. Yeah. I lived there, don’t you know. That’s where I got my MAJestic probe calibration and training. It’s awfully nice. Well, if you like pine tree forests on gravel, twisty and turny roads on the edge of cliffs with no guardrails, and fresh cool mountain air.
There’s a real Western “cowboy” vibe about the High Desert. And that has inspired me to present the work of one of the best “Western” themed artists that I have ever come across.Let’s take a look at some of his amazing work.
I hope you enjoy this post.
Mark Maggiori is a French painter who paints modern cowboys in the nostalgic American West. Maggiori’s approach is realistic and academically tuned.
Maggiori is a graduate from the prestigious Academie Jullian in Paris, France and currently resides in the United States.
At the age of 15, Maggiori visited the United States and drove cross-country with his uncle, it was love at first sight. Ever since that trip, he dreamed of returning to live in the American West.
After graduating Academie Jullian in 2000, Disney Studios recruited Maggiori with a prestigious Art Director position in Los Angeles, CA. Maggiori declined the offer to stay in Paris where he could be free to excel in various types of art including photography, animation, and music video directing, all while heading the rock band Pleymo as their lead singer.
In 2001 Pleymo signed with Sony records and toured the globe for 10 solid years, and still the dream of the American West never left him.
With his desire to discover America, he returned to the USA with a film camera and lost himself in the rural South for months.
Through directing music videos, he had the opportunity to wander the country, including Los Angeles, where his life changed.
Petecia Lefawnhawk, was a talented and very creative artist living in Los Angeles.
Maggiori was lucky enough to work with her in one of his music videos; this encounter changed the course of his life forever. Lefawnhawk introduced Maggiori to the ghost towns of the west, including Chloride, Arizona where she grew up.
It was in this setting that Maggiori directed a feature film “Johnny Christ” in 2010.
Soon after they visited the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City…and it was that day that Maggiori decided he would stop everything and dedicate his life to documenting the American West.
Today, Maggiori lives in Los Angeles, CA with his wife Petecia and paints the American West full time.
“I love to paint and dream about the good old times, Cowboys always represented, for me, a time when America was still a promise land…a huge dream for whoever wanted it, before corporations and plastic…I am trying to paint pieces that will tell a story itself and bring to the viewer certain nostalgia, a moment to remember what it felt to be riding a horse on a wide-open range. I am so fascinated by the era 1860 to 1910 in Europe and in America. Those were some golden ages.”
– Mark Maggiori
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This next painting has got to be the best of the best…
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Lost mines
He’s a pretty awesome artist, eh?
As a boy, I grew up reading “Treasure Magazine” that talked about gold and silver and precious stones, all in great abundance in the California deserts. I would daydream about being a cowboy of the Old West, or even better, finding the discoveries that lie hidden in plain sight.
Things, like old belt buckes, and rusty old swords and pistols were of chief interest in those days. I also used to daydream about finding some of those “lost mines” and venturing inside to gather a handful of precious gold nuggets, and then becoming wealthy as only a ten-year-old boy could conceive.
Of course, when I actually lived in the desert, it was a different story. But still, the romance of the west is undeniable. Here’s some pictures of abandoned mines of the California deserts.
Keep out!
Of course, most of the mines areound Ridgecrest were just a hole in the ground that went deep, deep, deep down, and if you accidently fell into one of these holes you ain’t never getting out.
But if you start venturing up into the high mountains, you start seeing some green grasses and plants. And you can sometimes stumble upon scenes like this…
Or perhaps something like this…
Of course, Treasure Magazine no longer exists as a paper magazine. Instead, it went online with a host of other organizations.
The Lost Treasure Magazine Obituary
It’s a well-known fact that print is in decline. However, despite this, a number of niche magazines have been able to hold on. Sadly, Lost Treasure magazine met its untimely end in December 2018, ending its over 50-year run covering treasure hunters past and present.
Lost Treasure first launched way back in 1966 and from there it came out monthly from its Grove, Oklahoman headquarters, far from the epicenter of publishing. One of its common features were reviews of metal detectors that modern-day prospectors might use in their quest for gold.
Where Lost Treasure really went above and beyond, however, was in talking about the treasure hunters of old, not as events frozen in time, but in terms of their relevance for gold prospectors in the present day.
The lost treasures of America were a particular focus, as the name might imply, with a particular interest in gold lost during the War Between the States. But there were also gripping tales of old-time stagecoach robberies and the golden age of bank robbery. Lost mines were another focus of the magazine, as well as sunken pirate treasure still sitting around waiting to be taken.
Photos were used, but the magazine also had a distinctive style of drawings that kept readers coming back for more. These were old-timey looking illustrations of everything from six-shooters to scorpions, evoking the symbolism of the Old West. Most were in a charcoal-and-pencil format, which further evoked a bygone age, though watercolors did sometimes appear in the pages of Lost Treasure.
Sadly, it isn’t just the print version of Lost Treasure that disappeared when it ceased publication. The website and Facebook page likewise went the way of the Old West.
The magazine suffered from the generalized decline in publishing, however, its content did not lend itself to continued survival as a niche magazine. Information about metal detectors is not only readily available to the general public on the Internet, it is also much more reliable than the “reviews” in Lost Treasure, which were oftentimes glorified advertisements. What’s more, the historical events cataloged in the magazine are likewise easily available to anyone with an Internet connection. As with the reviews of metal detectors, the information is also far more accurate.
The treasure stories were what sold the magazine — the notion that you could go out today with nothing but a metal detector and be the man who discovered the next mother lode of gold ore to become a millionaire.
It was an aspirational magazine before there was such a word for such a thing. One didn’t need to strike gold or even hunt for it to appreciate Lost Treasure magazine. One could get a little piece of that life every time one opened up a copy of Lost Treasure. That was where the magazine’s enduring appeal came from rather than practical advice.
Practical advice is now readily available for those seeking to hunt treasure. What’s more, large capital investments are no longer necessary to get your start at hunting for treasure. Such materials can now be rented, allowing you to dip your toes in the pond to find out if a prospector’s life is for you or not.
Speaking of treasure…
Read the Reader’s Digest article that inspired Rick Lagina to hunt for treasure on The Curse of Oak Island
The Curse of Oak Island star Rick Lagina was just 11 years old when he picked up an edition of Reader’s Digest and first his eyes on an article that would change his life forever.
The January 1965 edition of the publication — which was at the time the best-selling magazine in the United States — included an article reprinted from The Rotarian magazine and written by David MacDonald.
The subheading, enough to entice any 11 year old worth their salt (and any mystery-loving adult for that matter), added: “There is something down there — but for 170 years no one has been able to solve the riddle of how to get at it.”
He didn’t know it yet, but for the young Rick — who like his younger brother Marty loved adventure stories like The Hardy Boys books — that article sealed his future.
The Reader’s Digest story was in fact the same one that sparked an interest in the Oak Island mystery in fellow treasure-hunter and The Curse of Oak Island star Dan Blankenship, who moved to the island the same year it was published.
The article delved into how the famous Money Pit was first discovered by 16-year-old Daniel McInnes all the way back in 1795, when he stumbled across an “odd depression” at one end of the island. McInnes and two of his friends, Tony Vaughan and Jack Smith, then found mystery oak platforms every 10 feet down as they dug deeper and deeper into the ground.
The article went on to chronicle the massive and repeated efforts by various teams over the decades to try and find out just what is down there. Booby traps, deaths, $1,500,000 (at the time) already spent on trying to uncover the island’s secrets — this story had it all.
The article also included a diagram showing what had been found at various depths in the Money Pit, and included a picture of a prominent oak tree that used to sit at the top — which has since gone.
The article ended with a 1955 quote from petroleum engineer George Greene, who had spent time drilling on the island for a syndicate of Texas oilmen.
It said: “Someone went to a lot of trouble to bury something here. And unless he was the greatest practical joker of all time, it must have been well worth the effort.”
And so with that sentence did the little Rick Lagina set off into a future that would one day see him and his more skeptical brother Marty find themselves at the center of the biggest treasure hunt the world has ever seen.
The Reader’s Digest article had a slightly different layout in the US and Canadian versions of the magazine — with it starting on page 136 of the American edition and more prominently, on page 22, of the Canadian one.
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Inspiration
And if you all are so inclined for some inspiration, perhaps these links might send you in the right direction. Happy treasure hunting!
FMDAC – The Federation of Metal Detector & Archaeological Clubs, Inc. (FMDAC) was organized in 1984 as a legislative and educational organization and incorporated as a non-profit, non-commercial, non-partisan organization dedicated to preserving the sport/hobby of recreational metal detecting/prospecting.
SMARTER HOBBY – Getting started with a metal detector. Everything you need to know.
THE RING FINDERS – Lost rings, lost watch, lost brooch, lost pendant, lost jewelry?
HOBBY HELP – A beginners guide to metal detecting.
KELLY NOELLER – Metal detecting treasure hunter. Learn how to metal detect, we have the equipment and knowledge for all your treasure hunting needs. Read my blog.
UNDERCOIL.COM – A beginners guide to metal detecting.
DETECTING RESEARCH SITE– Detecting Research is your online portal to help you expand your knowledge of places to detect.
Do you want more?
I have more articles like this in my Art Index here…
Kai Carpenter is a freelance illustrator and painter based in New York, United States who has created magnificent artworks with traditional gouache painting… His list of clients includes Wizards of the Coast, LEGO Systems, Anderson Design Group, and Harper Collins publishing. Let’s take a look at some of his amazing artworks styled in an Art Deco flair, these adventurous scenes are sure to inspire and bring a smile.
Kai Carpenter is a freelance illustrator and painter based in New York, United States who has created magnificent artworks with traditional gouache painting.
Kai Carpenter’s elegiac scenes mine the myth and history coursing beneath the whole of human consciousness. Occupying the nebulous space between waking and dreams, his subjects hover just at the edge of our collective understanding.
Like figures emerging from mist, they are both seen and unseen, their presence more intuited than perceived. Carpenter’s portrayal of nature and the human form harkens back to the very roots of Western culture.
He embraces the ideals of the Romantic, offering art as a conduit through which we are meant to both contemplate and celebrate the mysteries of life.
Kai Carpenter’s Paintings are driven by a love of drama and beauty —and their convergence in a great visual story. The Seattle-based Carpenter’s work is jam-packed with color and storytelling, so much so that you might assume these works are digitally created.
W hen it came to painting of Redwood National Park for an ambitious centennial art book, Kai Carpenter decided to “turn the saturation way up”—use bright exaggerated colors—with his palette of oil paints.
The Brooklyn-based illustrator hadn’t set foot in the park, but had been commissioned to paint a stylized rendition of it, along with 11 other parks.
After speaking with people who had been there and studied photos of the park, Carpenter thought a bold color scheme would convey the sheer size of the place. He conjured a giant redwood, drenched in red and burgundy, towering above two small travelers, with more giant trunks receding into the background.
Early advertising posters from the 20th Century were pasted onto walls to grab public attention as busy people passed by. By necessity, good poster composition included bold color, contrast, iconic imagery and easy-to-read type.
“I was going for the look of old lithographs with those great color palettes,” he says. He referred to the early 20th century art deco travel posters, which featured happy couples exploring Technicolor versions of far-off locales: Visit Fascinating Fiji! Fly with Trans World Airlines! “And I was taking a lot of cues from the parks themselves, they’re already so vibrant.”
“I was going for the look of old lithographs with those great color palettes,” he says. He referred to the early 20th century art deco travel posters, which featured happy couples exploring Technicolor versions of far-off locales.
Five years ago, Joel decided he wanted to pay homage to the iconic Works Progress Administration posters, created between 1938 and 1941 for 14 national parks to encourage Americans to explore the great outdoors.
He started recruiting artists he’d worked with through his Nashville firm, Anderson Design Group, who generally specialize in that retro travel poster style. To achieve that look, most ADG art is hand-lettered and drawn or painted before it’s given a final polish on the computer.
Inspired by the stylized art of the early 20th century, artist Kai Carpenter has created original paintings that turn drama and beauty into great visual stories. Vibrant colors and well-crafted lettering add to the calendar’s retro style.
“We studied the WPA posters to make sure we were plowing new ground,” Joel says. “Luckily, the parks are so vast that it wasn’t hard to find new landscapes and color palettes.”
All 71 works in the book draw from styles that characterize the Golden Age of Poster Art: rich colors, hand-lettered text, timeless scenes like a cowboy in Saguaro National Park or a couple canoeing through the Everglades.
“We studied the WPA posters to make sure we were plowing new ground,” Joel says. “Luckily, the parks are so vast that it wasn’t hard to find new landscapes and color palettes.”
Three weeks after completing all of the paintings in September, Carpenter and his older brother road-tripped from Brooklyn to Seattle, stopping over two weeks at three of the parks he’d painted: Zion, Yosemite, and Redwood.
“I was worried I was going to be devastated that I butchered all of these places,” he says. “But I was surprisingly happy with how they turned out.” Especially the Redwood poster: “I’m really glad that I went bananas with the colors,” Carpenter says. “It feels that way when you’re there. Like you’re maybe seeing something you’re a little too small to be seeing.”
The Seattle-based Carpenter’s work is jam-packed with color and storytelling, so much so that you might assume these works are digitally created. However each one is effortlessly painted in oil on canvas.
The Seattle-based Carpenter’s work is jam-packed with color and storytelling, so much so that you might assume these works are digitally created. However each one is effortlessly painted in oil on canvas.
Five years ago, Joel decided he wanted to pay homage to the iconic Works Progress Administration posters, created between 1938 and 1941 for 14 national parks to encourage Americans to explore the great outdoors.
“I was worried I was going to be devastated that I butchered all of these places,” he says. “But I was surprisingly happy with how they turned out.”
Inspired by a collection of vintage citrus labels…
… reflect the art styles seen throughout 1900-1950 with an influence of the Works Progress Administration.
This period included persuading Americans to travel to the great outdoors as advertised by the automobile and railroad industries, and later influenced by the art boom of the depression.
Kai Carpenter’s Paintings are driven by a love of drama and beauty —and their convergence in a great visual story.
This period included persuading Americans to travel to the great outdoors as advertised by the automobile and railroad industries, and later influenced by the art boom of the depression.
Early advertising posters from the 20th Century were pasted onto walls to grab public attention as busy people passed by. By necessity, good poster composition included bold color, contrast, iconic imagery and easy-to-read type.
His amazing artworks are styled in an Art Deco flair, these adventurous scenes are sure to inspire and bring a smile.
This is an index of art that I have found profound, interesting,
beautiful or enlightening. In any event, I find that art soothes my
soul. I enjoy painting figurative and portraits in oils using the more
traditional Flemish technique, but it never really brought me the kind
of money I need to live off of. Such is the life of a painter today.
Please enjoy.
Articles & Links
You’ll not
find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy
notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a
necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money
off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you
because I just don’t care to.
“Meticulously painted, Ferguson’s darkly humorous narratives evoke an achronological magical realism, featuring composite cities and landscapes comprised of everything from from 16th Century European towns to early 20th century Americana (or Canadiana as the case may be),” the gallery says.
“Meticulously painted, Ferguson’s darkly humorous narratives evoke an achronological magical realism, featuring composite cities and landscapes comprised of everything from from 16th Century European towns to early 20th century Americana (or Canadiana as the case may be),”
“Combining grandiose narratives of the great ages of exploration with a distinctly paranormal bent, Ferguson’s work subtly hovers the line between fantasy, surrealism, and realism without ever falling into either of them fully. Norman Rockwell meets H.P. Lovecraft.”
“Combining grandiose narratives of the great ages of exploration with a distinctly paranormal bent, Ferguson’s work subtly hovers the line between fantasy, surrealism, and realism without ever falling into either of them fully. Norman Rockwell meets H.P. Lovecraft.”
Peter Ferguson was born in Montreal, Canada in 1968. He set his sights on an illustration career after seeing the movie Star Wars, deciding that he would like to draw spaceships.
After graduating from the Ontario College of Art and Design in Toronto in 1992, he began his career as a professional illustrator, using oil as his medium of choice.
After graduating from the Ontario College of Art and Design in Toronto in 1992, he began his career as a professional illustrator, using oil as his medium of choice.
Peter’s brilliant ability to conceptualize clients’ ideas as well as his distinctive characters gave him a running start in the editorial and book publishing markets. Since signing with Three in a Box Inc, Peter’s career has grown steadily.
Peter’s brilliant ability to conceptualize clients’ ideas as well as his distinctive characters gave him a running start in the editorial and book publishing markets. Since signing with Three in a Box Inc, Peter’s career has grown steadily.
Peter is also a highly sought after fine artist, who’s vividly imaginative works read like a lucid dream of an alternate history, recalling the aesthetic of Dutch Renaissance painting, old National Geographic photography, and 18th century British Naval history.
Peter is also a highly sought after fine artist, who’s vividly imaginative works read like a lucid dream of an alternate history, recalling the aesthetic of Dutch Renaissance painting, old National Geographic photography, and 18th century British Naval history.
Meticulously painted, Ferguson’s darkly humorous narratives evoke composite cities and landscapes from 16th Century Europe and early 20th century small town Americana (or Canadiana as the case may be).
Meticulously painted, Ferguson’s darkly humorous narratives evoke composite cities and landscapes from 16th Century Europe and early 20th century small town Americana (or Canadiana as the case may be).
Combining grandiose narratives of the great ages of exploration with a distinctly paranormal bent, Ferguson’s work subtly hovers the line between fantasy, surrealism, and realism without ever falling into either of them fully.
Combining grandiose narratives of the great ages of exploration with a distinctly paranormal bent, Ferguson’s work subtly hovers the line between fantasy, surrealism, and realism without ever falling into either of them fully.
Luminously painted and complex in their composition, his paintings retain an air of both melancholy and wonder at days gone past.
Luminously painted and complex in their composition, his paintings retain an air of both melancholy and wonder at days gone past.
He has an enormous gallery on line with all sorts of interesting and amazing art. You can find it HERE (it opens up in a separate link).
Ferguson’s work subtly hovers the line between fantasy, surrealism, and
realism without ever falling into either of them fully.
Ferguson’s work subtly hovers the line between fantasy, surrealism, and realism without ever falling into either of them fully.
Canadian painter Peter Ferguson has been working had a career as a professional illustrator since graduating from the Ontario College of Art and Design in Toronto in 1992. He has been very successful over the years and has had many clients such as Marvel Comics, The Wall Street Journal, and has illustrated the covers of the Sisters Grimm collection.
Canadian painter Peter Ferguson has been working had a career as a professional illustrator since graduating from the Ontario College of Art and Design in Toronto in 1992. He has been very successful over the years and has had many clients such as Marvel Comics, The Wall Street Journal, and has illustrated the covers of the Sisters Grimm collection.
His personal work is an imaginative mixture of the fantastical and bizarre. The fusion of technical skills and imaginative depictions of characters within the work seems to indicate that strong cultivations of narratives are the premise behind his extraordinary oil paintings.
This is an index of art that I have found profound, interesting,
beautiful or enlightening. In any event, I find that art soothes my
soul. I enjoy painting figurative and portraits in oils using the more
traditional Flemish technique, but it never really brought me the kind
of money I need to live off of. Such is the life of a painter today.
Please enjoy.
Articles & Links
You’ll not
find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy
notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a
necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money
off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you
because I just don’t care to.
Kisung Koh uses his art as a means to opening gateways into nature’s spiritual dimensions, exploring the intimate connections he has formulated with wildlife during his lifetime. Over the course of years, this South Korean has had the honor of coming in close contact with many wild animals within their natural habitats and has become aware of these incredibly strong energies.
Kisung Koh uses his art as a means to opening gateways into nature’s spiritual dimensions, exploring the intimate connections he has formulated with wildlife during his lifetime.
“I love animals and natures like anyone else and they are all my inspirations. My parents had wanted me to live in somewhere full of trees and the beauties of nature because they knew I was extremely fascinated of being in nature. In my childhood I lived in a small town of South Korea surrounded by mountains and rivers and spent most of the time in nature and farms. “
“My parents had wanted me to live in somewhere full of trees and the beauties of nature because they knew I was extremely fascinated of being in nature. In my childhood I lived in a small town of South Korea surrounded by mountains and rivers and spent most of the time in nature and farms. “
“One day, I was walking in a forest myself in early morning. It was very silent and calm. While having a nice walk, I had a chance to see a deer family very close. I can’t explain how I felt at the time because it’s unspeakable. It was just truly amazing. “
“One day, I was walking in a forest myself in early morning. It was very silent and calm. While having a nice walk, I had a chance to see a deer family very close. I can’t explain how I felt at the time because it’s unspeakable. It was just truly amazing. “
” It’s probably easier to say that I saw not only deer but also beautiful spirits around them. In my opinion, there is nothing more beautiful than when you actually see a wild animal in nature. However, we rarely see them where they are supposed to be and just don’t know how amazing they are to be alive. “
” It’s probably easier to say that I saw not only deer but also beautiful spirits around them. In my opinion, there is nothing more beautiful than when you actually see a wild animal in nature. “
Kisung Koh (Canada) uses his art to open gateways into nature’s spiritual dimensions and explores the intimate connections he has built with wildlife during his lifetime. Drawing heavily on the memories and dreams provided to him by the sheer awe inspiring spectacles he has witnessed in the great outdoors, Koh pays tribute by creating imagery that is suggestive of the metaphysical energies and bonds which can exist between two living creatures, even when interacting from a distance.
Kisung Koh (Canada) uses his art to open gateways into nature’s spiritual dimensions and explores the intimate connections he has built with wildlife during his lifetime.
Over the years, Koh has had the honour of coming in close contact with many wild animals in their natural habitats, and has become aware of these energies, which have manifested themselves to him with an ethereal majesty. Through his art, Koh captures the essence and beauty of the natural world, and reminds us that our relationships with it are…
Over the years, Koh has had the honour of coming in close contact with many wild animals in their natural habitats, and has become aware of these energies, which have manifested themselves to him with an ethereal majesty.
Kisung Koh was born during the year of 1985, in South Korea. He lived in his home country until 2006 when his entire family moved to Toronto, Canada. Based in a new nation with an entirely new culture, Kisung Koh needed some time to adjust. He eventually received a BAA in Illustration from Sheridan College, ON, Canada, receiving these honors in the year of 2012.
Kisung Koh was born during the year of 1985, in South Korea. He lived in his home country until 2006 when his entire family moved to Toronto, Canada. Based in a new nation with an entirely new culture, Kisung Koh needed some time to adjust.
Since then, he has been developing his technical skill and establishing a reputation within the art community of Canada.From the moment he became a professional artist, Koh has exhibited his art around the world and has become a much sought after name within the international scene. From day one, he has been finding inspiration in animals and natures, fascinated by their grace and harmony.
From the moment he became a professional artist, Koh has exhibited his art around the world and has become a much sought after name within the international scene. From day one, he has been finding inspiration in animals and natures, fascinated by their grace and harmony.
Kisung Koh became noticed by art pundits thanks to his dreamy and imaginative places that featured animals, packed with mysterious spirits that make the depicted creatures seem safe. Such a practice culminated over time and is a result of a deep fascination with nature that followed this illustrator his whole life:
There is nothing more beautiful than when you actually see a wild animal in nature. However, we rarely see them from where they are supposed to be and just don’t know how amazing they are to be alive.
Exploring the spiritual potential of the wild and its stoic inhabitants, Koh draws comparable connections between the animal and human plights.
This is an index of art that I have found profound, interesting,
beautiful or enlightening. In any event, I find that art soothes my
soul. I enjoy painting figurative and portraits in oils using the more
traditional Flemish technique, but it never really brought me the kind
of money I need to live off of. Such is the life of a painter today.
Please enjoy.
Articles & Links
You’ll not
find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy
notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a
necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money
off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you
because I just don’t care to.
Jason Limon
is a painter who has exhibited his artwork in galleries across the U.S.
and in parts of Europe. He has had recent solo exhibitions in New York
City, Chicago and Albuquerque. His current art follows stories based on
mythological creatures and paranormal cryptids portrayed with a hint of
humor with a dose of strangeness. You can often see his characters
brought to life in dimensional form through his complex sculptures.
Jason lives and works in San Antonio, Texas with his wife and two
daughters.
His current art follows stories based on mythological creatures and paranormal cryptids portrayed with a hint of humor with a dose of strangeness.
“The main thing that drove me to finding my place in the fine art world was watching and admiring what other artists were doing.”
” I used to spend my days sitting behind a computer working in the graphic design biz and almost every single day I’d scour through illustration annuals and art books we had lying about in shelves and piled on our desks. I was always amazed at the great new things many of these artists were creating.”
“The main thing that drove me to finding my place in the fine art world was watching and admiring what other artists were doing.”
” For the longest time it was a place where I always felt I belonged, but was frightened to jump into seeing as I have a family to support and all. Over time these feelings just became stronger and I grew really tired and felt restricted by the computer. “
For the longest time it was a place where I always felt I belonged, but was frightened to jump into seeing as I have a family to support and all.
“I decided to dive in head first in 2007 and began painting full time and all good things just snowballed from there. It’s been a tremendous honor and pleasure to be able to be in the exhibits I’ve been in. I do look forward to seeing what more this avenue has in store for me.” – Jason Limon (Murphy Design)
I decided to dive in head first in 2007 and began painting full time and all good things just snowballed from there.
“Over the last few years when I would lay down to sleep at the end of the day the first thoughts that would run through my head were about death. I’m not a morbid person, nor am I afraid of death. The thoughts were typically quick, then I’d do my best to understand what they meant, but would usually fall asleep before even coming close to an answer.”
Over the last few years when I would lay down to sleep at the end of the day the first thoughts that would run through my head were about death.
“They went on for a little over two years and I noticed just a few months back that they went away. With hindsight and looking at it altogether I took it as a signal to rethink how I express my feelings through art. “
With hindsight and looking at it altogether I took it as a signal to rethink how I express my feelings through art.
“Most of what I am saying in these paintings is personal and revolve around fear, confusion and the fragility of life – about not having answers and trying to move beyond these ominous feelings. As dark as it all may sound, it has shed a positive light on how I create. “
Most of what I am saying in these paintings is personal and revolve around fear, confusion and the fragility of life – about not having answers and trying to move beyond these ominous feelings.
“In most of this work I have also reintroduced the application of typography as well as the usage of multiple panels in a painting; elements that I enjoyed early on, yet had faded with time.“
In most of this work I have also reintroduced the application of typography as well as the usage of multiple panels in a painting; elements that I enjoyed early on, yet had faded with time.
My images almost always seem to portray doom and gloom! I’ve been shoveling through my brain, tossing out some darkness and trying my hardest to stick to absorbing positive thoughts.
My images almost always seem to portray doom and gloom! I’ve been shoveling through my brain, tossing out some darkness and trying my hardest to stick to absorbing positive thoughts.
In the process I was thinking about my fifteen year old daughter poking fun of my typical dad concerns, complaints and worries. Sometimes my only response to her is “You Will See“. It’s sometimes tough to keep fighting off problems and remain strong inside.
Of course, we’ve all been through trouble. We deal with it and keep moving ahead. She’s had a different life than I have and I do my best to see her happy, but just a suggestion to keep in mind: It is not that easy to keep going. Hold on to hope through it all as you go forth.
In the process I was thinking about my fifteen year old daughter poking fun of my typical dad concerns, complaints and worries. Sometimes my only response to her is “You Will See”.
This is an index of art that I have found profound, interesting,
beautiful or enlightening. In any event, I find that art soothes my
soul. I enjoy painting figurative and portraits in oils using the more
traditional Flemish technique, but it never really brought me the kind
of money I need to live off of. Such is the life of a painter today.
Please enjoy.
Articles & Links
You’ll not
find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy
notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a
necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money
off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you
because I just don’t care to.
Bob Dob is the patron artist of everyone who will probably have Social Distortion playing at their wedding, assorted birthdays and their funeral. His colorful portraits of diminutive punk rockers, meanie mouseketeers, and pill, pot, cheese, paper bag and amp headed everymen, are instantly captivating, especially for those of us who can’t get through Ball and Chain without getting a little choked up.
Bob Dob is the patron artist of everyone who will probably have Social Distortion playing at their wedding, assorted birthdays and their funeral.
The Hermosa Beach native grew up in an area with plenty of punk rock graft and glory to be inspired by, and his craft, honed at the Otis College of Art and Design, is detailed and intricate without sacrificing warmth and feeling.
The Hermosa Beach native grew up in an area with plenty of punk rock graft and glory to be inspired by, and his craft, honed at the Otis College of Art and Design, is detailed and intricate without sacrificing warmth and feeling.
It feels like every portrait was done at sundown after a long day, or at sun up after a long night. Check out his website for more information and imagine how great one of his pieces would look above your JCM 800.
It feels like every portrait was done at sundown after a long day, or at sun up after a long night.
Bob Dob was born and raised in the once lazy beach town of Hermosa Beach California. After his child hood dream of becoming a pro baseball player was taken from him due to a battle with cancer he gravitated towards music and art. Playing in a punk band for 10 years named Lunacy, the exposure to the music scene in Los Angeles would have great influence on his art.
Bob Dob was born and raised in the once lazy beach town of Hermosa Beach California. After his child hood dream of becoming a pro baseball player was taken from him due to a battle with cancer he gravitated towards music and art.
While focusing on music theory at a local community college Bob began taking drawing and painting classes. Eventually his interest in art took over and he transferred to Otis College of Art and Design in 1998 where he earned his Bachelors Fine Art Degree in illustration..
After graduation in 2001 he freelanced working for such clients as The Fox Family Channel, Aflac, Kraft, Intel, The Village Voice, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Random House Publishing, and numerous editorial magazines.
After graduation in 2001 he freelanced working for such clients as The Fox Family Channel, Aflac, Kraft, Intel, The Village Voice, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Random House Publishing, and numerous editorial magazines.
Playing in a punk band for 10 years named Lunacy, the exposure to the music scene in Los Angeles would have great influence on his art.
While focusing on music theory at a local community college Bob began taking drawing and painting classes. Eventually his interest in art took over and he transferred to Otis College of Art and Design in 1998 where he earned his Bachelors Fine Art Degree in illustration.. Art by Bob Dob.Art by Bob Dob.
This is an index of art that I have found profound, interesting,
beautiful or enlightening. In any event, I find that art soothes my
soul. I enjoy painting figurative and portraits in oils using the more
traditional Flemish technique, but it never really brought me the kind
of money I need to live off of. Such is the life of a painter today.
Please enjoy.
Articles & Links
You’ll not
find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy
notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a
necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money
off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you
because I just don’t care to.
When she was only 9 she moved to Italy, where she started to draw seriously: manga at first and realistic things afterward. She attended an art institute and graduated in 2004. During the school years, she starts to paint with oil colors, a technique that soon to become her favorite. Hence she attended the Academy of Fine Arts of Venice where she found a lot of inspiration for her realistic and academic art. A year later she moved to Tuscany where she graduated at the Academy of Fine Arts of Florence. She focused her interest in more things like digital art and illustration.
During the school years, she started to paint in oil colors, a technique that soon became her favorite.During the school years, she started to paint in oil colors, a technique that soon became her favorite.
She also completed her studies at the academy of digital arts NEMO NT where she gained the title of student of the year.
During the school years, she started to paint in oil colors, a technique that soon became her favorite.
Ania has always been interested in realistic, renaissance works. Her first loves are Salvador Dalí and Wojtek Siudmak’s big canvases, full of absurd and strange creations, painted in a divine way.
During the school years, she started to paint in oil colors, a technique that soon became her favorite.During the school years, she started to paint in oil colors, a technique that soon became her favorite.During the school years, she started to paint in oil colors, a technique that soon became her favorite.During the school years, she started to paint in oil colors, a technique that soon became her favorite.During the school years, she started to paint in oil colors, a technique that soon became her favorite.During the school years, she started to paint in oil colors, a technique that soon became her favorite.During the school years, she started to paint in oil colors, a technique that soon became her favorite.
Buying an artwork
Please contact her agent if you would like to buy an original painting by Ania Tomicka or to be notified when there is some new art for sale.
This is an index of art that I have found profound, interesting,
beautiful or enlightening. In any event, I find that art soothes my
soul. I enjoy painting figurative and portraits in oils using the more
traditional Flemish technique, but it never really brought me the kind
of money I need to live off of. Such is the life of a painter today.
Please enjoy.
Articles & Links
You’ll not
find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy
notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a
necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money
off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you
because I just don’t care to.
Suggesting the future of the human existence without showing a single person, Martin Wittfooth creates allegorical oil paintings of majestic animals.
Excepting traditional techniques of the old Masters in combination with new approaches, his visual language reveals exceptional depth in both medium and content. Indicating the issue of climate changes, his mysterious and beautiful images convey the impression that something in this world is wrong.
Although absent, human subsistence is depicted with their rubbish remains, as junked car or demolished buildings, in the world given over to animals that encourage us to think about our place in it.
Suggesting the future of the human existence without showing a single person, Martin Wittfooth creates allegorical oil paintings of majestic animals.
Born in Toronto, Wittfooth spent his childhood in Finland. He moved to his hometown to study where he earned his BAA in illustration from Sheridan College and then MFA at the School of Visual Arts in New York. His work has been shown nationally and internationally and has been published in numerous relevant magazines, as Hi Fructose or New American Paintings.
Surpassing the illustrative genre, he entered the realm of modern masterworks, finding his inspiration in the 19th-century painters. Creating the familiar contents, he incorporates a feeling of dystopia and dilapidation in his post-apocalyptic vision and symbolism of using animals instead of humans as subjects.
Wittfooth underlines the possibilities of what could happen if people do not adopt some changes.
Surpassing the illustrative genre, he entered the realm of modern masterworks, finding his inspiration in the 19th-century painters. Creating the familiar contents, he incorporates a feeling of dystopia and dilapidation in his post-apocalyptic vision and symbolism of using animals instead of humans as subjects.
His series of oil paintings named The Offering explore the theme of shamanism and its revitalization worldwide.
In accordance with its practice of researching altered states of consciousness in order to interact with the world spirit, Wittfooth asserts that those beliefs have an influence on people’s egos and materialistic obsessions, helping the connection with nature and other humans.
There are the traces of destruction in his paintings, as fires rage and oceans surge, but the creatures carry the surreal peacefulness, celebrating the existence, they represent the life-givers.
In accordance with its practice of researching altered states of consciousness in order to interact with the world spirit, Wittfooth asserts that those beliefs have an influence on people’s egos and materialistic obsessions, helping the connection with nature and other humans.
Always been drawn to visual art, Wittfooth’s interests and tastes had passed through a lot of changes.
During the studies in New York, he had a chance to experiment with oils as medium and to reassess his personal ideas. Exploring his own paintings in series, he is trying to have a wider theme over the whole body of work.
Every painting is a piece of a puzzle, but all of them can speak individually, representing their own solo show. In series The Passions, Wittfooth borrowed tittles and composition from classical paintings and sculptures, processing the theme of blind faith and human martyrdom.
One of his favorite motifs, the fire, instead the symbol of destruction, here represents the substitution for halo.
One of his favorite motifs, the fire, instead the symbol of destruction, here represents the substitution for halo.
Featuring creatures in unexpected environment, that deviate from the natural surrounding we used to, in Wittfoot’s paintings smog fills the sky and garbage and decay lay on the ground.
Small animals get the heroic role, while large ones represent the calmness and peacefulness. Aiming to induce the viewer to question and challenge which is taken for granted, he’s work investigate themes of industry and nature, human influence on environment, the collision of obsolete ideologies with modern fears.
His creative language uses the combination of symbolism, the juxtaposition of visual narratives and the displacement of expected realities.
Small animals get the heroic role, while large ones represent the calmness and peacefulness. Aiming to induce the viewer to question and challenge which is taken for granted, he’s work investigate themes of industry and nature, human influence on environment, the collision of obsolete ideologies with modern fears.
Martin Wittfooth is an artist whose paintings, drawings, installations, and sculptural works investigate themes of the intersection and clash of industry and nature, and the human influence on the environment.
Martin Wittfooth is an artist whose paintings, drawings, installations, and sculptural works investigate themes of the intersection and clash of industry and nature, and the human influence on the environment.
Many of Wittfooth’s works explore the theme of shamanism — rituals and practices as old as our species — through which we have attempted to dialogue with nature: the nature outside ourselves and the nature within. His creative language uses the combination of allegory and symbolism to convey visual narratives.
His creative language uses the combination of allegory and symbolism to convey visual narratives.
Martin Wittfooth was born in Toronto, Canada, in 1981. He currently splits his time between two studios — Savannah, Georgia, and the Hudson Valley. He earned his MFA from the School of Visual Arts in New York City in 2008.
Wittfooth’s work has been exhibited in galleries and museums worldwide, including the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art, Akron Art Museum in Ohio, and La Halle Saint-Pierre in Paris, with solo exhibitions in New York City, Los Angeles, Seattle, and Montreal. His paintings have also appeared in numerous publications.
Martin Wittfooth was born in Toronto, Canada, in 1981. He currently splits his time between two studios — Savannah, Georgia, and the Hudson Valley. He earned his MFA from the School of Visual Arts in New York City in 2008.
Wittfooth’s oil paintings explore disquieting themes of industry and nature, unhinged evolution, the clash of old ideologies with modern fears, and the growing shadow of the human footprint on the earth.
Set in atmospheric landscapes rendered over many paint layers on canvas, linen, or wood panels, these themes are realized through a combination of symbolism, the juxtaposition of visual narratives, and the displacement of expected realities.
Set in atmospheric landscapes rendered over many paint layers on canvas, linen, or wood panels, these themes are realized through a combination of symbolism, the juxtaposition of visual narratives, and the displacement of expected realities.
The worlds created in Wittfooth’s paintings implore the viewer to
question the status quo, to challenge that which is taken for granted,
and to proceed with caution on our present course.
The worlds created in Wittfooth’s paintings implore the viewer to question the status quo, to challenge that which is taken for granted, and to proceed with caution on our present course.
This is an index of art that I have found profound, interesting,
beautiful or enlightening. In any event, I find that art soothes my
soul. I enjoy painting figurative and portraits in oils using the more
traditional Flemish technique, but it never really brought me the kind
of money I need to live off of. Such is the life of a painter today.
Please enjoy.
Articles & Links
You’ll not
find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy
notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a
necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money
off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you
because I just don’t care to.
The works of Tokuhiro Kawai always conjure whimsical and phantasmical stories of the likes of the Aesop and Anderson, the Grimm brothers’ fairytales. Each of his painting entails a particular story that draws viewers to its details and its numerous fascinating characters. Characters which encompass from within so vivaciously and vividly.
Kawai’s attempt to reinvigorate Renaissance style of painterly technique by imbuing myth, legend and fantasy has defined a unique sense of visual style. This style is both intriguing and refreshing in the field of Japanese contemporary art.
Each of Kawai’s painting is the blackboard to his imaginary filmstrip that allows his liberal expression to be realised into a magnificent vista that arouses viewer with curiosity and delight… not to forget the natural Japanese love of cats.
Tokuhiro Kawai is known for paintings that both recall and satirize scenes from mythology. Yet, as his statement with Gallery Gyokuei reminds us, “The history of pictorial expression is history of reproduction.”
In recent years, Kawai has specifically garnered popularity for the motif of felines donned in the garb of royalty.
Kawai’s attempt to reinvigorate Renaissance style of painterly technique by imbuing myth, legend and fantasy has defined a unique sense of visual style. This style is both intriguing and refreshing in the field of Japanese contemporary art.
Tokuhiro Kawai (1971-present, Japanese) Tokuhiro Kawai (1971- present, Japanese) is a surrealist contemporary artist who weaves stories into his art. Sometimes relying on fantasy and magic, his works ignore gravity and perspective, stimulating thought and imagination with vivid colors. Kawai’s “regal” cats are whimsical.
- TokuhiroKawai (1971-present, Japanese) - The Great Cat
“After the modern period, art expression has shifted its theme to personal lives and the role of storytelling is gradually passed over to literatures and films. Gyokuei says.
“Upon this, Kawai approaches to work on the now fragile bond between story and picture to bring the two into reunion. Since gods and faith are less related to our modern society, Kawai complements the theme with his own imagination.”
“Upon this, Kawai approaches to work on the now fragile bond between story and picture to bring the two into reunion. Since gods and faith are less related to our modern society, Kawai complements the theme with his own imagination.”
Born in 1971 in Tokyo, Tokuhiro Kawai graduated in 1995 from the oil paintings department at Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, and in 1997 he graduated with a master’s degree from the same university.
He has held several solo exhibitions in Japan and a group exhibition at the Mori Art Museum in 1997, where he was an award recipient, and at Setsuryosya Firenze in 1999.
In 2006 he took part at a group exhibition at Kabutoya Gallery, Tokyo, as well as being involved in numerous exhibitions at Art Fair Tokyo since 2008.
Born in 1971 in Tokyo, Tokuhiro Kawai graduated in 1995 from the oil paintings department at Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, and in 1997 he graduated with a master’s degree from the same university.
The works of Tokuhiro Kawai always conjure whimsical and phantasmical stories of the likes of the Aesop and Anderson, the Grimm brothers’ fairy. Each of his painting entails a particular story that draws viewers to its details and its numerous fascinating characters, which encompass from within so vivaciously and vividly.
In Symbiotic Relationship – Automatic Duel (Lot 557) Kawai’s floating angels behold the younglings lopsided in the sky, with the younglings’ swords closely opposed at each other. In which this composition have a nuanced affiliation with the angelic wall mural of The Creation of Adam at the Sistine Chapel from the Renaissance.
Kawai’s attempt to reinvigorate Renaissance style of painterly technique by imbuing myth, legend and fantasy has defined a unique sense of visual style that is both intriguing and refreshing in the field of Japanese contemporary art.
Each of Kawai’s painting is the blackboard to his imaginary filmstrip that allows his liberal expression to be realised into a magnificent vista that arouses viewer with curiosity and delight.
Kawai’s attempt to reinvigorate Renaissance style of painterly technique by imbuing myth, legend and fantasy has defined a unique sense of visual style that is both intriguing and refreshing in the field of Japanese contemporary art.
Kawai has a particular gift for painting animals and many of his compositions are filled from top to bottom with flamingos, foxes, owls, ammonites, and pelicans.
Cats seem to be his favorite and they are pictured as conquerors, tyrants, and gods.
In one of his pictures a feisty cat has killed an angel like it was a songbird and is holding the limp corpse in his fangs while standing like a stylite atop a classical column.
Cats seem to be his favorite and they are pictured as conquerors, tyrants, and gods.
Tokuhiro Kawai is a Japanese artist from Tokyo born in 1971. The works of Tokuhiro Kawai is always coloured with beautiful stories. Ignoring the principles of physics such as gravity and perspective, idealized characters appear inside the picture, creating depth and expression to the view of his world.
Tokuhiro Kawai is a Japanese artist from Tokyo born in 1971. The works of Tokuhiro Kawai is always coloured with beautiful stories. Ignoring the principles of physics such as gravity and perspective, idealized characters appear inside the picture, creating depth and expression to the view of his world.
Tokuhiro Kawai is known for paintings that both recall and satirize scenes from mythology. Yet, as his statement with Gallery Gyokuei reminds us, “The history of pictorial expression is history of reproduction.”
In recent years, Kawai has specifically garnered popularity for the motif of felines…
The cultural depiction of cats and their relationship to humans is old and stretches back over 9,500 years. Cats are featured in the history of many nations, are the subject of legend and are a favorite subject of artists and writers.
Tokuhiro Kawai is known for paintings that both recall and satirize scenes from mythology. Yet, as his statement with Gallery Gyokuei reminds us, “The history of pictorial expression is history of reproduction.”
Cats in Asian art have been a part of Chinese, Japanese and Korean art for centuries and are still prominent subjects of contemporary artists.
The Chinese cat goddess Li Shou was worshipped and adored, and likewise, the Japanese paid tribute to the Maneneko who is said to have saved the life of a Samurai warrior. Rooted deep in myth, cats in Asian art became an icon for Chinese and Japanese as well as other Asian cultures.
Kawai has a particular gift for painting animals and many of his compositions are filled from top to bottom with flamingos, foxes, owls, ammonites, and pelicans.
Owned only by the elite few in Japan, early scrolls show cats on leashes and living luxurious lives indoors.
In contrast, in China cats were depicted as hunters. In the Edo period (1603-1868), Japan was at peace and turned its attention to Ukiyo-e art and culture. Ukiyo-e woodblock prints made art available for the masses, and the merchant class was the first to purchase such prints.
The works of Tokuhiro Kawai always conjure whimsical and phantasmical stories of the likes of the Aesop and Anderson, the Grimm brothers’ fairy. Each of his painting entails a particular story that draws viewers to its details and its numerous fascinating characters, which encompass from within so vivaciously and vividly.
These prints depicted cats going about their natural cat behavior: playing, sleeping and cleaning themselves. Human forms soon became cats that were often caricatures that professed some social commentary.
In the mid-19th century Japanese Kabuki actors were portrayed by cats, as it was against the law to display actual pictures of the real actors and courtesans. Because of cats’ viciousness, cat monsters appeared in art and in literature as Bakenekos. Many Asian artists have portrayed the cat through history as pampered pets, hunters, ghosts, monsters or spirits.
Human forms soon became cats that were often caricatures that professed some social commentary.
Something to look forward to in any trip is a contact with the local animals. Japanese people have lived with cats for ages and because of this history there are places in Japan that are a must-see for all cat-lovers.
‘Cat Cafés’ have become increasingly popular, and the wide variety of cat-themed merchandise available in Japan will surely appeal to the cat-lover in you.
Something to look forward to in any trip is a contact with the local animals. Japanese people have lived with cats for ages and because of this history there are places in Japan that are a must-see for all cat-lovers.
Japanese people have had a long relationship with cats. More than 1000 years ago, people in the upper class were already living with cats. Common people also started having pet cats at home several hundred years ago and Japanese people have been involved with cats in a variety of ways since then.
There are shrines that worship cats as gods across Japan and cats have also played a part in folk beliefs through the ages.
Japanese people have had a long relationship with cats. More than 1000 years ago, people in the upper class were already living with cats. Common people also started having pet cats at home several hundred years ago and Japanese people have been involved with cats in a variety of ways since then.
The extent to which Japanese people have been involved with cats is evident from the volume of artworks that depict cats as the main subject.
In the Edo period (1603-1868), Ukiyoe virtuosos Hiroshige Utagawa and Kuniyoshi Utagawa painted cats, and in the Meiji period (1868-1912）, the great novelist Soseki Natsume wrote the novel “I Am a Cat”, which became a famous masterpiece of Japanese literature.
Even nowadays you can find examples, such as the famous character “Hello Kitty” the cute anthropomorphic cat, and “Krocchi” a stray cat character that has recently started to become popular. Cats have been loved by Japanese people through the ages.
Even nowadays you can find examples, such as the famous character “Hello Kitty” the cute anthropomorphic cat, and “Krocchi” a stray cat character that has recently started to become popular. Cats have been loved by Japanese people through the ages.
Places that show traces of the relationship between cats and people are scattered throughout Japan.
Tashirojima Island in Ishinomaki City located east of Sendai City
is known as the ‘Cat Island’. Cats come to welcome the boats at the
port. Many cats wait patiently around the fishing port for fishermen to
return.
Tashirojima Island in Ishinomaki City located east of Sendai City is known as the ‘Cat Island’. Cats come to welcome the boats at the port. Many cats wait patiently around the fishing port for fishermen to return.
Neko-jinja or the cat shrine is located in the central area of the island and it enshrines a “cat god” in hope of a good catch and safety of the fishermen. Cats have been worshiped as gods for several hundred years when people began forecasting the outcome of fishing based on cats’ behavior.
Tashirojima Island was damaged by the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami in 2011, but many of the cats survived, evacuating to the area around Neko-jinja.
The extent to which Japanese people have been involved with cats is evident from the volume of artworks that depict cats as the main subject.
Aoshima Island in Shikoku area is also known as a cat island. The catch-phrase of this island is “15 residents and 100 cats, the cat paradise”.
They say that 10 years ago when the population of the island went below 50, the number of cats started to increase. The biggest appeal of Aoshima Island is that you can have an extremely close contact with cats. The island has recently become increasingly popular as a tourist spot, especially among cat lovers.
They say that 10 years ago when the population of the island went below 50, the number of cats started to increase. The biggest appeal of Aoshima Island is that you can have an extremely close contact with cats. The island has recently become increasingly popular as a tourist spot, especially among cat lovers.
Day trips to the island are recommended since there are no accommodation or restaurants in Aoshima.
There is a passenger boat which makes the 45-minute ride twice a day to Aoshima from Nagahama port in Ozu City, Ehime prefecture located at the west end of Shikoku island. There is a limit to the number of passengers since the boat is used for the islanders’ daily use and therefore there is a chance you may not be able to board.
There are also no stores or vending machines on the island, so please make sure you take food and drinks when you visit.
Aoshima Island in Shikoku area is also known as a cat island. The catch-phrase of this island is “15 residents and 100 cats, the cat paradise”.
“Of course, you can also see cats in the city. In Yanaka, a cat town in Tokyo reasonably close to Ueno Park, you can see cats living freely in the city.
You can feel the old atmosphere of Japan in Yanaka Ginza, a shopping street that has kept their old streets and atmosphere. The cats living there also add to the view of the town. Shopping there is also a fun experience for cat-lovers because Yanaka Ginza has many shops selling cat-themed goods.”
You can feel the old atmosphere of Japan in Yanaka Ginza, a shopping street that has kept their old streets and atmosphere. The cats living there also add to the view of the town. Shopping there is also a fun experience for cat-lovers because Yanaka Ginza has many shops selling cat-themed goods.
“Nyankodo” in Jinbocho, approximately 10-minute train ride away from Tokyo Station, is a book store that collects only cat-themed books.
They carry books related to cats published all over the world including photo books, literature, picture books, story books and comics. They also have books on Kuniyoshi Utagawa, a world-famous Ukiyoe painter and a photo collection of Mitsuaki Iwago, a wildlife photographer. You will surely find your favorite book here.
Tokuhiro Kawai (1971-present, Japanese) Tokuhiro Kawai (1971- present, Japanese) is a surrealist contemporary artist who weaves stories into his art. Sometimes relying on fantasy and magic, his works ignore gravity and perspective, stimulating thought and imagination with vivid colors. Kawai’s “regal” cats are whimsical.
“Maneki-neko”, the beckoning or welcoming cat, is best known in Japan as a lucky charm said to bring business success. Cats used to be a lucky charm in the silk industry long ago as they get rid of crops eating rats and silkworms.
They became popular as a lucky charm to increase business. It is believed that a cat with a beckoning paw has the power to bring in more people.
According to a legend, Gotokuji Temple, located approximately 10-minutes from Gotokuji Station on the Odakyu Line in Tokyo, is the birthplace of Maneki-neko. Enshrined on one corner of the temple are a number of Maneki-neko that were donated by those whose wishes came true. There are several kinds of Maneki-neko, ranging from the small ones that cost several hundred yen to big ones that cost as much as 5,000 yen. This is a perfect souvenir for your family and friends. I bet you can almost see the smile on their faces now!
Movies that Inspired Me
Here are some movies that I consider noteworthy and worth a view. Enjoy.
Stories that Inspired Me
Here are
reprints in full text of stories that inspired me, but that are nearly
impossible to find in China. I place them here as sort of a personal
library that I can use for inspiration. The reader is welcome to come
and enjoy a read or two as well.
My Poetry
Art that Moves Me
Articles & Links
You’ll not
find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy
notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a
necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money
off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you
because I just don’t care to.
