Friday, February 13, 2015

Charcoal drawing of a first year maiko


Here is a  charcoal drawing I did of a new maiko (apprentice geisha) from the Gion Higashi district of Kyoto, Japan.



"Komako" - 9" x 12" - charcoal drawing on toned paper

Monday, February 9, 2015

Newest Painting: "Tora Tora"

Tora Tora - 30cm x 59.5cm original oil painting on 1.5cm wood panel

My wife and I had an opportunity to have dinner with geisha and maiko in December in the Gion Kobu district of Kyoto.  After dinner, the geisha and maiko danced to the shamisen (Japanese stringed instrument) and then played drinking games with the guests.  We played a few traditional games which started out fairly easy, but became more and more difficult  as the night went on because the beer and sake were "all you can drink!"

This is a painting of a Geiko Fukue, a geisha from the Gion Kobu district of Kyoto, Japan, preparing to play the popular geisha game "Tora Tora".   Similar to paper, rock, scissor, the geisha and her guest have to adopt one of three guises: an old woman with a cane, a tiger, or a samurai warrior with a spear. The participants prepare for their roles on either side of a partition and, at the designated moment, emerge in one of the poses. The tiger eats the old lady, the samurai kills the tiger, but the old lady wins against the warrior because she is his mother. The loser must pay the penalty....drink!



Available at http://philcouture.com/ 

Saturday, February 7, 2015

Very honored to have my painting "Maiko Tomitae" 
selected as a Finalist in the December RayMar Art Contest!