Untitled Blog post

Ever since we started the blog, there was never a post called untitled. Everything was decisively about something. A lot of times, it’s easy to connect the dots, see patterns and decide what they may be.

Yesterday was one of those days when things didn’t seem to connect.

Untitled painting completed on somebody’s special day
Medium: Gouache & Ink

I was reading Brene Brown’s book “The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You’re Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are.” It was the first time in months I have felt focused. I didn’t realize how much I missed the act of intensely focused on reading.

I am not able to connect the dots between the painting and the book. However two things I understood:
1) Painting is something I will always do. Cannot give it up and it’s developing as time goes (for better or worse, like writing, that doesn’t matter. It is the process, the act of doing that matters.)
2) Worthiness is not based on productivity or status; it is based on being our authentic self who could be vulnerable and afraid of many things.

This is a quote I really liked from the book, her language is simple even though the idea is complex. It is self explanatory.

“We don’t need love and belonging and story-catching from everyone in our lives, but we need it from at least one person. If we have that one person or that small group of confidants, the best way to acknowledge these connections is to acknowledge our worthiness. If we’re working toward relationships based in love, belonging, and story, we have to start in the same place: I am worthy.” (Brown, Page 48)

Song of Kamakura

We planned the trip around September 16th which was the day of the annual archery show at a temple in Kamakura. We enjoyed the show, the noise, the sound, the waves of people, the horses that didn’t care about the event, and the hot weather.

After the event, we wander around and it was at a temple which was probably not on our itinerary where we found our solace. We entered the big gate, and took off our shoes to enter the historical architecture with the plastic bags holding our shoes, and went to the back of the structure. Sitting down on a bench with strangers, we heard a song of words we did not know. We looked at the view of the garden, the shallow pond, the light breeze dancing on the water, the blue skies with cloud and found solace in the simplicity of it all where all the complexities of everyday life was escaped.

It was a moment that made the day trip worthwhile and an experience and a feeling that would never be forgotten. How simple it was to feel a fleeting moment of contentment, at the right time, in the right place.

Fushimi Inari shop

The paintings with gouache continues… At the Fushimi Inari shrine, on your way back to the temple, there is a small shop. They have boiled eggs and tea outside of which you can purchase for 90 yen (less than a dollar per egg, tea is free). They have candles outside, umbrellas, maps and little miscellaneous gifts and the shop owner is a polite old man.

For some reason, when I think of sunset or one of the most romantic moments in Japan, that image always comes to mind. It was a simple experience that didn’t cost much at all, yet it was so valuable. I remembered the red gates of the Fushimi Inari shrine, walking through hundreds of them, wondering when it would end and if we were the only ones walking up. It was such a relief to see the shop where people gathered to have a simple snack and rest.

Kyoto at Dusk

Going to Japan has inspired a series of paintings. My friends and I are currently working on putting a project together (in the most basic steps right now!)

Kyoto at dusk

The first night we were in Kyoto, we were really excited since our ryokan was in Gion. One friend was reliving her memories of Kyoto when she was there 12 years ago while I was fascinated of being in the part of town that had been virtually unchanged for a few hundred years. It was in Kyoto we were reluctant to leave, went to different temples on the mountains, near our ryokan, close and faraway and enjoyed different kind of peace where the beauty of it was just sitting down, feeling the moment and letting the peace that surrounds you engulf you in its entirety.

There were man powered rickshaws in Gion offered to tourists and even some natives dressed in kimono. The slight of rickshaws with the ancient buildings preserved perfectly in the background is really an amazing sight.

Autumn in Japan- Gouache

Needless to say, Japan has always been fascinating to me. I felt very lucky to be able to make my two week visit with a group of wonderful friends (despite our differences, ups and downs, disagreements, etc). The scenes and natural landscape in Japan were very photogenic so I took a ton of phots. It was late September when we went so the foliage hadn’t changed colors completely but it was starting to happen slowly.

During the last day of my interior design class, a classmate talked about gouache. I find it fascinating; it creates matte and opaque finish. I like to freely paint so I use acrylic; however when acrylic dries it has a glossy finish and sometimes when the paint dries, it is not the same as when the paint is wet.

Painting in gouache