While I am working with watercolor I explore painting landscapes and flowers by applying aesthetics of Japanese Ukie-E (”floating world”) wood block prints of the seventeenth century. 

The Japanese art of that period carries the feeling of immediacy, happening.  It gives me a jolt of energy every time I am looking at it for inspiration.  While I look at an ordinary flower or a landscape I make an immediate emotional connection with it. I feel the energy of the moment, and through my finished painting I share this experience with the viewer.

In the beginning I draw simple shapes, focusing my attention on the line and simplifying shapes.  This way I push the realistic image to become more abstract. I follow with watercolor in sheer layers of glazing to model the forms.

The colors I see in reality are not always what I feel is right for the painting. I give myself freedom to adjust them as I go.  While I work on location, I render certain parts of the petals, leaves or trees in a detailed manner, leaving the background painted loose--understated--to balance the composition.  Then I finish painting in the studio by memory and by my emotional reaction.

Through creating my paintings and drawings I connect to the world were I live, learning how to relate to it, finding my own unique place.