Category: Genre – Land/City/Seascape

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Street View: A Kaleidoscope of Colors

Water colour – on 300 GSM Paper (41 x 25cm)

This is my watercolor painting of a bustling restaurant area located near Tokyo, Japan, created in 2017. I usually prefer a realistic style in my paintings, but occasionally I use a looser style to emphasize the use of color.

The painting captures the vibrant and lively atmosphere of the area, with towering buildings that are bathed in the warm glow of the setting sun. I depicted the locals making their way down the street towards the nearby bars, adding to the sense of movement and energy in the scene. The atmosphere is both peaceful and inviting, evoking a sense of relaxation and contentment. The colorful lights from the bars blend together seamlessly, creating a mesmerizing kaleidoscope-like effect that adds to the overall charm of the scene.

(eof)

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A Drunken Snowfall

Watercolor – on 300 GSM paper (41 x 25cm)

In late 2013, I traveled back to Korea after my time in New Zealand and continued my travels around. While exploring, I spent some time in Japan, where my habit of drinking led me to seek out bars even at night. One evening, while wandering through the streets under the influence, I was awestruck by the sight of snowflakes falling from the sky.

The snow, along with the lights and reflections on the street, appeared to me as an artistic masterpiece. I made a mental note to capture the scene through a photograph and later converted it into a painting in 2017.

This painting still conveys the mix of emotions, drunkenness, and enchanting ambiance that I experienced at the time. The painting was executed in a loose style, despite my usual preference for tight realism. The colors used in the painting were nearly a perfect match for my personal taste, resulting in a piece that satisfied me greatly.

However, I ended up giving the painting to a friend and have since regretted that decision. Last winter, there was a heavy snowfall in Dunedin, and I missed the opportunity to capture it through a photo. But I learned my lesson and plan to take more pictures of snowy scenes in the future.

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Family Outing at Dusk

Oil / 76 x 50.5 cm / Canvas

A small park by Riverton, South Island. I pass through here every time I travel to Te Anau — there’s a bench, the water, and usually a few sheep wandering the paddock behind.

This evening, a family came out to graze as dusk settled. A ewe and her lamb on the left, another ewe with her lamb on the right. Four of them, unhurried, moving through the grass as if nothing in the world could disturb them.

The smallest lamb stands apart from the others, looking out. Not grazing, not following — just standing there, watching, as if the whole world is still new to him. He doesn’t know what the sky is about to do. He doesn’t need to.

Above them the sky did what it often does in Southland — storm and sunset sharing the same clouds, pink light spilling across the water and into the field. The sheep don’t notice. They just eat.

I almost called this painting Innocence. I didn’t. But it’s still there — in the way the lamb stands, in the way the grass holds them, in the way the evening light falls on all four of them equally, as if nothing has happened yet. (eof)