My Mom

My mom passed away on September 23rd. She was 86. Because I live so far away from Japan, I was unable to attend her funeral which was held on 25th, but I will be going back for her 49th day memorial (which is a Japanese tradition).

She was such a loving and kind person who appreciated everything she had and came across in her life. None of my family has ever seen her quarrel with anyone or even in a bad mood. She was truly a special person and I'm honored to be her daughter.

She is now united again with my dad, her father and mother, and all of her brothers, two of whom died in the war at a young age. I know that she is watching over me now and can visit us and our cats at any time she wants. Mom, thank you for always being there for me.

Commission Portrait

Title: Buddy
Size: 12 x 12 inches
Medium: Acrylic
Support: Stretched canvas
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About a couple of months ago, I received a commission request to paint a very cute black pug named Buddy. I didn't post the image until now because it is supported to be a birthday present. I think it came good. My client liked it!

Happy Birthday, Kim! I hope you like this painting of your Buddy.

Baby Barn Owl

Size: 8 x 8 inches
Medium: Acrylic
Support: Canvas panel
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I found a picture of an adorable baby barn owl on Wetcanvas and just had to paint it. Barn owls have such an adorable face. I have to say they are my favorite among all the owls, although I have never seen them in person.

I am getting pretty busy with my work. Probably won't have any time to paint until the middle of September. :(

Have a great summer, everyone!

Serval

Size: 6 x 6 inches
Medium: Acrylic
Support: Ampersand Gessobord

I painted this Serval from a reference photo by a wildlife painter David Stribbling. He is an amazing artist. One day, I hope to be able to paint like him.

Another miniature

Title: Stillness
Size: 3 x 4 inches
Medium: Acrylic
Support: Multimedia artboard

When I visited my family in Japan, we went to several temples. This is one of them. It was such a peaceful place and a raven was resting on top of the statue. The actual background is not like this, but I think it goes well with the statue.

Gorilla ACEO

Size: 2.5 x 3.5 inches (ACEO)
Medium: Acrylic
Support: Multimedia artboard

I have several pictures of Gorillas from San Francisco Zoo. They always look so serious.

Miniature Portrait

Title: The First Grandson
Size: 3 x 3.5 inches
Medium: Acrylic
Support: Multimedia Artboard

This is my brother-in-law with his first grand child. I was going through my pictures and found a delightful picture of my brother-in-law that was taken during a family trip about three years ago. I just had to paint from this picture and like how it came out. I haven't shown it to him yet, but am sure he would enjoy it.

Miniature Paintings

Title: Clouded Leopard #3
Size: 2.5 x 3.5 inches
Support: Multimedia artboard mounted on card stock

I have been working on a couple of small paintints for the upcoming miniature shows. This is one of them. I think it has turned out ok. A 1/6-scale is difficult for me to achieve, so I try to pick a large subject. lol

The next one will be a human potrait. Needless to say, it will be a HUGE challenge for me, and then followed by a gorilla. Wish me luck.

Needle Felting

I have been very curious about needle felting for about a year. A few weeks ago, I finally picked up a book at the local library and ordered some materials. These are my first three little creatures I created.

It took me a long time to create each one, but was fun. I feel I can get addicted to needle felting.

Sheep: 4" (L) x 2" (W) x 3.5" (H)



Lion: 4.5" (L (including tail) x 2" (W) x 2.5" (H)



Tuxedo Cat: 7" (L (including tail) x 2" (W) x 5" (H)

Still Life Painting

Size: 5 x 5 inches
Medium: Acrylic
Support: Drafting film (mounted on watercolor paper)
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Inspired by Karen and Deb, I decided to use a drafting film to do this still life painting. The drafting film provides a smooth surface which is great for realism painting. I enjoyed this support very much although it required several layers of paint to get a solid background. I think it has great potential in achieving many more interesting textures than my usual support (multimedia artboard and canvas). Will definitely experiment more with this support!

I will post some of the pictures of my trip as soon as I finish processing hundreds of photos that I took in Japan. Hopefully there are some good ones to share with you. :-)