Georgia O’Keeffe is my favor painter/Artist.

But I didn’t know about her and paintings till I move to this country in 1982.

I can’t remember how or where I saw her painting first time. But I remember that I went to Mendocino library and borrowed books and Video about Georgia O’Keeffe.

Now days it’s easy to get a lot of information through Internet.

I found these videos, which I watched many times back then.

Georgia O’Keeffe in New Mexico http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYwKRVJaNEA

Georgia O’Keeffe talking about her life and work http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v71awD38Qy4

This is new to me. It’s a good one to watch. Georgia O’Keeffe Tribute, Bones In The Sky ~ Dan Fogelberg [ CC ] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3QAS_jwh28

This Scene was at San Diego Art Museum.

560. O’Keeffe & Young Couple Watercolor painting by Mariko Irie

I remember O’Keeffe said, “ He told me that my color is hopeless. So I painted barns in dark color. It was sold next day.” something like that.

I believe that she was talking about this painting. Mostly her colors of paintings are bright clear colors. So this painting is different from them. But still they are beautiful colors and strong charming composition. When I go to San Diego Museum, I visit this painting all the time.

 

Yesterday I was invited to do Watercolor painting demonstration for Artist Round Table in Santa Rosa CA. The room was very big and around fifty artists including many watercolorists attended my demo.

I will show the process of the painting on this blog.

First soak the watercolor paper in distilled water for over 10 minutes and stretch the paper with staples and tape down on an Art Board.

After stretched paper is dried completely, draw the image. Especially when I paint a big painting, I draw the image on a tracing paper then trace on the stretched watercolor paper using graphite transfer paper. That is the way I don’t mess up the watercolor paper.

This painting I painted background to forward. So I painted sky first.

Then this one.

549. Mondrian in Rice Field process Watercolor painting by Mariko Irie

Then this one,

549. Mondrian in Rice Field process 2 Watercolor Painting by Mariko Irie

Then this one,

594. Mondrian in Rice Field process 3 by Mariko Irie

Then this one

549. Mondrian in Rice Field process 4 Watercolor painting by Mariko Irie

Voila!

594. Mondrian in Rice Field process 4 Watercolor Painting by Mariko Irie

I photographed this image, when I was in the village where is surrounded by Japanese Alps. It was on my morning walk in the last November. The front of this image is a rice field, which was harvested, cleaned and turned soil. I wonder that these lines were on purpose for farming process or somebody just played. To me these lines in this field like a design of Piet Mondrian . So I named “Mondrian in Rice Field”

Thank you for attending my one-hour and half demonstration at the Artist Round Table. They had a camera behind my shoulder, showing what I was doing on the big screen and head microphone. It was great, awesome.

You were wonderful audience, gave me good questions and nice words. I had a great time with you.

Several people want to take my workshop. I’m trying to find the room in Santa Rosa area for my workshop, and when it’s scheduled, I will announce. I hope to see you again.

My next workshop “Luminous Watercolor” is scheduled at the Mendocino Art Center on July 6^th & 7^th 2013. More information, please visit at http://www.mendocinoartcenter.org/Summer13/Irie.html

They are offering 5% early bird Discount through March 31.

Happy painting!

558. Ben Shahn & a Woman Watercolor Painting by Mariko Irie

This scene is in San Diego Art Museum in Balboa Park.

They do excellent shows and have great collections.

I love Ben Shahn’s ink drawing since when I was an Art University student.

And I had never seen his original paintings till I saw this painting at the museum. What I had seen were cover of books or posters. I was so fascinated his lines and interesting images.

After I painted this painting “ Ben Shahn & a Woman”, I wanted to know about him. So I searched in Internet.

I found that he was very involved politics as a human being.

This YouTube is a good one to watch getting know him.

Art as Activism: The Compelling Paintings of Ben Shahn

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L24lrWVNVRo

He also did a series, called Lucky Dragon, about the Daigo Fukuryū Maru (literally, Lucky Dragon No. 5), the Japanese fishing boat caught in the Bikini Atoll hydrogen bomb blast.

As of 2012, an important part of this series is in the collections of Fukushima Prefectural Museum of Art

But after the Tsunami / Nuclear Power Plants accidents in 2011, they decided not show the painting, because the painting is too grotesque.

And American Museums refused to send Ben Shahn’s paintings to this museum’s Exhibition, because they are afraid paintings might get damage from polluted air from the Nuclear Power Plants accident.

After I looked at his works I realized that I have never seen his paintings before besides the one I painted.

I love this painting “Ben shahn & a Woman”. The way came out is just right. The lady who is looking at the painting is just right there, don’t you think?

This scene was at San Diego Art Museum.

I can relate with some of Picasso or Dali’s paintings, because there are stories.

But I don’t get anything from this painting, which he is looking at very carefully.

I’m very curious what is in his mind as looking at this painting.

557. Understandable? Watercolor painting by Mariko Irie

I like this my painting “Understandable?” very much, but I don’t know why.

This painting is a one of my “Art Lovers” series.

I love this scene very much. Their relationship is so respect each other.

556. Grandpa’s Lecture Watercolor Painting by Mariko Irie

Today is March 3, Hinamatsuri: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinamatsuri in Japan.

They celebrate to pray for Girls’ happiness and health.

My best memory of Hinamatsuri was when I was in the preschool. I was born and raised in Tokyo. Almost the end of the second war, Tokyo was attacked from the air. People lost houses. But when I was in preschool, we had a house. We were not starving, but still not much things to have.

My preschool’s director, Tosi Fukuchi was a great personality. She talked softly, slowly and sweet always. She had never raised voice. And she was an authority of Children’s literature. She red great children’s books, showing good children’s movies and moppet shows for us

Anyway, she asked us to bring our own dolls for Hinamatsuri. So we brought our lovely dolls. Some of them were handmade. Teachers created stairs from boxes for oranges or apples and put cloth over it and put our dolls and plum flowers.

We were so happy, because my friends’ lovely dolls and mine were on the stage to look at. And we sung songs and danced in front of that display.

Now I know that she educated us how happy we can be if we use our imagination and creation.

I went to Mendocino Coast in the middle of February, the last month.

The weather was so gorgeous, but the wind was killing me. When I was standing on the Headlands, wind was pushing me so hard.

But I stared weaves coming going. I felt soooooo good. I felt like cleansing fungus of winter and smelled spring already.

555. Waves are Coming Going Watercolor painting by Mariko Irie

In February,

There is no reason, but doubt and fear overpower at night.

The next morning, strolling in the yard, finding daffodils open wide. They just like the sun in spring on the ground.

529. Daffodils Oil painting by Mariko Irie

Nice warm energy comes out from them.

It’s still cold air but they are signs of spring.

Cold winter in life, it will be over just like other seasons.

But over the heavy winter clouds, pulled spring out so early.

I’m sure that it was your power.

ありがとう＝Thank you

２月、なぜかいろいろな疑問と不安の夜がくる。

そんな次の日の朝、庭を歩いていると水仙が大きく開いている、まるで、地面の上の春の太陽。

暖かいエネルギーが、優しく湧き出ている。

まだ寒さが残っているけれど春の兆し。

人生の中の寒い冬は、いつか過ぎ去るもの。

すべての季節がそうであるように。

でも冬の厚い雲のむこうから

こんなに早く暖かい光をよべたのは、きっとあなたの力だったのでしょう。

ありがとう＝Thank you

I was in San Diego Art Museum in Balboa Park.

552. Grandpa & Granddaughter Watercolor painting by Mariko Irie

The gentleman was talking, asking about these paintings in the room with a girl. He sounds like an art history teacher or some.

This scene recalled my good memories with my Grandpa.

I just found the philosophy of Masanobu Fukuoka: One Straw Revolution:    http://www.onestrawrevolution.net/One_Straw_Revolution/Videos.html

And I watched six episode of this series.: 耕さない田んぼが環境をかえる（without plowing rice fields change environment.)

‪ http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEC2998D8F97540E5

In this series, their way of agriculture is based on Masanobu Fukuoka’s philosophy. Fukuoka wrote “One Straw Revolution”

No plowing, no fertilizer, puling weeds without machine or chemical.

In Japan they changed the way of Agriculture, so no creature in a rice field any more.

The result of the without plowing rice field bring back a lot of creatures to live in rice fields, so birds could come back.

The Biwa Lake is polluted by all kind of stuff. One of them is from rice field, which they use so much chemicals. You can see mucky water comes in to the lake from rice fields. But scientist discovered the rice field which no plowing, no fertilizer, no puling weeds by machine or chemical, growing creatures, which cleansing water.

I was watching this series I felt so warm inside of me.

So I want to share with you.

In the video Nobuo Iwasawa who is the leader/agriculture engineer told, “I can’t live so long. So I try to find ways to recover the earth for our grandchildren.”

Thank you for reading my blog,

Have a beautiful day,

Mariko

It is a time of a year minus energy comes in to us.

I told my friend who is having hard time “Do deep breathing. When you breathe in, breathe Love in, when you breathe out, breathe Fear out”

In Japan they do “Setsubun” on Feb.3^rd.

They scatter roasted soybeans as shouting out, “In with fortune! Out with demons!”

Ancient people knew how to deal with our nature.

I made Assemblage “Let’s open our good feeling” last year.

550. Let’s Open Our Good Feeling by Mariko Irie

And this year I made Fine Art Giclee print from the image.

Good words open our good feeling, don’t they?

And I hear:

A dream come true is

For only who has a dream.

Becoming happy is

For only who has an image of happy

Thanks for teaching me

Hoping has a power of reaching future

Like a magnet

Thanks for teaching me

Sowing seeds

Watering plants

Importance of growing future

With all my heart

Your Glow is

A gift from Universe

Arigato= thank you

After I entered my blog “Hoping for Tomorrow”, I got several responses by e-mail.

One of them recommended reading “As A Man Thiketh” by James Allen. It’s only twenty-one pages book. I’ve red Japanese version of the book first and then English version. It’s stunning, very deep thinking and very true to me. It’s very beautiful.

This is from the book:

“The dreamers are the saviors of the world. As the visible world is sustained by the invisible, so men, through all their trials and sins and sordid vocations, are nourished by the beautiful visions of their solitary dreamers. Humanity cannot forget its dreamers; it cannot let their ideals fade and die; it lives in them; it knows them as the realities which it shall one day see and know.

Composer, sculptor, painter, poet, prophet, sage–these are the makers of the after-world, the architects of heaven. The world is beautiful because they have lived. Without them, laboring humanity would perish.

He who cherishes a beautiful vision, a lofty ideal in his heart, will one day realize it. Columbus cherished a vision of another world and he discovered it. Copernicus fostered the vision of a multiplicity of worlds and a wider universe, and he revealed it. Buddha beheld the vision of a spiritual world of stainless beauty and perfect peace, and he entered into it.

Cherish your visions; cherish your ideals. Cherish the music that stirs in your heart, the beauty that forms in your mind, the loveliness that drapes your purest thoughts. For out of them will grow all delightful conditions, all heavenly environment; of these, if you but remain true to them, your world will at last be built.”

And we live on this heavenly beautiful earth.

543. Love at Jug Handle Beach Watercolor painting by Mariko Irie 2012

Can you see the heart?