Beneath the Tower, Golden Hour with Dad
I was thinking recently which was the first image I created for the series 36 Views of the BT Tower . The first in the series actually...
top of page
Sep 192 min read
The Influence of a Chinese Blue and White Vase on Aubrey Beardsley's Iconic Art
As an artist and lover of art history, I've always been fascinated by the unexpected connections between different cultures and artistic...
Jul 293 min read
The Parable of the Blind Men and the Elephant: A Modern Reflection
In a time when information is more accessible than ever, the ancient parable of the blind men and the elephant has never been more...
Jul 282 min read
Love and Fear on the Musashi Plain: Kajita Hanko's Masterpiece from the Tales of Ise
I want to share with you a work of art you might not be so familiar with. Goethe once made a comment about minor artists and their place...
Jun 263 min read
The Royal Academy Summer Exhibition 2024: Celebrating a Milestone
So it finally happened! after years of trying, my painting finally got accepted into the Royal Academy of Art Summer Exhibition 2024....
Mar 102 min read
Mr Hayashi's Elephant: Creativity and Friendship
Creativity, at its core, is about sharing one's vision with the world. When a maker creates, they share their emotions, whether it's joy...
Jul 8, 20235 min read
Proust and Japanese Prints
The French writer Marcel Proust (1871-1922), author of In Search of Lost Time (A la recherché du temps perdu) was an intensely visual...
Mar 25, 20233 min read
The Office Worker's Dream: A Self Portrait
The second print in the series 'Six Views of Dreams' is in fact a self portrait of myself in an office. It contains many details which I...
Jan 14, 20231 min read
36 Views of the BT Tower: A Sudden Gust of Wind
Though not as popular as 'The Great Wave' or 'Red Fuji', 'A Sudden Gust of Wind' usually comes third in popularity in the series 36 Views...
Jan 2, 20234 min read
Failure and Creativity: Some Things I Got Wrong
Around the end of the year, many people like to look back and measure their stages of development with their achievements. I do this too,...
Dec 31, 20223 min read
36 Views of the BT Tower: Fireworks on the Thames and Sumida Rivers
As we approach the New Year, I felt it was appropriate to discuss my design of new year fireworks on the Thames and Hiroshige's...
Oct 23, 20224 min read
The 'Lover's Dream'
"Some will say they do not wish to dream their lives away. As if life itself were not a dream, a very real dream from which there is no...
Oct 2, 20223 min read
Foujita's Feline Friends
Foujita is most famous for his paintings of nudes and cats. Indeed, it's his paintings of cats that drew me to him the most. My other...
Jul 1, 20223 min read
The Lego 'Nanban' Ship of Fools
All art is a self-portrait, and this painting of a ship on gold leaf in mineral pigments is no different. It has a lot within to unpack...
Jun 27, 20223 min read
Noh Performance and Ogata Korin's Painting
I recently had the opportunity to see Noh being performed in London. Noh is one of the oldest continous forms of theatre in the world...
Jun 21, 20227 min read
Depression and Creativity: How Art Saved Me
As you can probably tell from the title, this is going to be very personal. There is a dark side to my story of how I decided to become...
Mar 15, 20224 min read
Playing with Ink: 'Pomo' and 'Tarashikomi' Techniques
In my studies of the Rinpa school in Japan and their techniques for my own paintings, I suddenly realised something that I didn't think...
Mar 8, 20222 min read
Of Gods and Cats
I recently painted two cats on gold leaf with mineral pigment. In composition I wanted them to mirror each other like the Gods of Wind...
Feb 18, 20224 min read
'Nanban' Screens: Trade and Art in Japan
Southern Barbarians Come to Trade Foreign traders and Japanese merchants interact with one another. Goods are inspected and money changes...
Jan 31, 20226 min read
A Selection of Elephants in Edo Period Art
For me, elephants are an obsession. I have always loved them from my earliest memory. So what better way to discuss elephants than in the...
bottom of page