Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Kanzashi

Kanzashi 38"x38" 97 x 97 cm

A variation on the Tokyo Express painting. For this one I distorted the drawing to emphasize the hair ornaments ("kanzashi"), and I also distorted the Japanese characters to alter the perspective. All of the whites are the paper. Da Vinci/Fabriano.

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

nick - what do the letters mean?

Myrna Wacknov said...

Magic!

Nick said...

Chris - I've had a few different translations...something about a pavilion with five lights. Profound, no? heheh All I really cared about was how the letters looked, but it probably doesn't make much sense to a Japanese person!

Myrna - thanks so much, I appreciate it!

William K. Moore said...

Man Nicholas.. you really get those colors to sing - and I'm lucky I enjoy traditional Japanese music. I dig the Japanese sense of beauty and aesthetic in as many of the art forms that come to mind. The Japanese ability for killing though I can leave... and it seems they can be as focused on war and greed as any other culture. But you hit the groovy notes: color, form, rhythm, lovely figure, etc. You achieved balance in a master's fashion --

perugina said...

Simply brilliant NNG!

Billie Crain said...

i'm a big fan of the drips, Nick. i also recognize some of the techniques you demo-ed on your DVD, too. brilliant piece of work!

better be careful with those Japanese characters. you might write something that's insulting.;)

Anonymous said...

excellent mood, balance and color schema. Recognizable style and technique....this must be a real Simmons.
Perfect piece to hang above your dinner table, to bad you only have 10 chairs......

Sandy said...

First...I love the square format(I am into square!!
I really like how you used the lettering to move the viewer through the composition...overall a delightful combination of colour, line, texture and your special magic!

Nick said...

Bill - I had this about 80% finished some weeks ago and moved on to something else. Looked at it the other day and decided it needed the other 20% afterall. I was hoping it wouldn't. Trying to make one's work more and more unfinished (if that's not too much of a contradiction) is very difficult, it's become my primary struggle in painting.

Perugina - drive by anytime! :)

Billie - I had to paint around a lot of the drips to get the effect I wanted. I'm really getting into painting on a vertical surface, and the dripped paint is part of the deal...luckily I like it!

Rob - nice to see you, thanks for the post. I need to head over and see what's new, something killer I'll bet!

Sandy - sorry to have missed all the recent activity on Tehan! I haven't had much time for the forums and blogs these days. Maybe nobody has time anymore, I see there were 130 visitors yesterday, and no comments. (except mine!)

wayne said...

Hi Nick,
..a masterful balance and integration of visual layers and forms -- I admire how you have combined a considerable number of visual elements and motifs into a pleasing whole. The subtle vertical watery runs throughout the picture plane provide an interesting counterpoint to the lyrical curves of the figure's facial features and the lyrical crisply-defined curves of the calligraphy (Japanese characters). So too the free watery interchanges within this work. I can't understand a word of Japanese but i appreciate the fluency of the calligraphy in these Japanese characters. I also like the striking square format and vitality of colour..

wladi said...

I loved Tokio Express and I love Kanzashi! Incredible format and size...

Tóbal said...

Another cool one , Nick!
I love all this japanese paintings.Stylized way of painting with your master brushes... a winning mix!
Now I think I´m in changing process...trying hand-made papers with watercolors...
See ´ya!

Nick said...

Wayne, if it meets with your approval I've done alright! You might be interested to know that I put the lettering into the spherize filter to create the bulging distortion and also to cram the whole bit into the pic (while having some of it go outside the edges). I think it added some dimension to an otherwise flat picture. Still waiting on your next blog post!


Wladi - thank you for stopping by and the nice comments - I love that new one you just did!

Tobal - I know you're quite into this asian subject matter too, there must be a universal appeal to it among painters.

David Burge said...

Great design Nick, explosive and rhythmic, another winner!

joel said...

i love the overall simplicity of the shapes and composition. yet, this belies the fact that the underlying work is a cacophony of complexity.

this is a measure of how well these pieces will stand the test of time. there will always be something new for the viewer to discover.

i have been doing pure alla prima work lately. i seem to build my own complexities into these pieces by mistake or by habit. Controlled complexity (IMHO) is a "horse of a different color...".

-- Joel.

Nick said...

DakO - thanks mate, great to see you pop in. Back to the well on this one, but I think the design is a notch or two more dramatic. I'm checking the blog for the next post from Alice!

Joel - I love having the Aussies drop by, I hit it of with you blokes. Hope you're not in a fire zone!
The test of time....if I still like it next week, it's a success, heheh.

Anonymous said...

Interesting, showy, with that tone orange that enchants to me… I like the perspective, and am very special the effect that secures those vertical lines that they lower on the inclined face… Seems that watches with surprise through a window in a day in which it rained water of colors…
A greeting
Snows
Sorry por lo que haya traducido malamente el babelfish

Nick said...

Nieves - don't apologize for Babelfish, it has mangled many a post for me on Hispacuarela...sometimes with unfortunate but often comical results!
I was also thinking about the window idea while painting it, though I realize it's not a realistic rendering, perhaps just the hint. Sometimes the uncertain hint is preferable to graphic depiction, si? :)

Nes said...

It is very certain Nick…
I would like to separate to me more of the figurative thing when I paint, but am very difficult for me, and I undergo a little by that reason…

Nick said...

Nieves, you're and excellent painter, that last one you sent is wonderful. Figure work is difficult, maybe the most difficult. I like your new avatar!

cardesin said...

Thanks Nicholas may be large if,


I'm a novice with computers, sorry
their work is a reference within the art.
muchos saludos yo tambien sigo visiting.
CARDESIN