Nearness is here and farness is over there. Between both extremes you will find the subject (or the focal point) of many paintings. In landscape painting, however, the gap between nearness and farness is at its greatest. Think of the landscape as a stage on which events take place, and the painter as able to coordinate these events, and to bring in characters, to tell stories in various ways. This exercise is an encouragement to direct a play, whose characters and events play out on an expansive set. Remember, in landscape painting, a character can be seeable or imaginative (fictive)... a tree, or a window, or a smoking chimney, a giant apple, or a creature from Greek mythology. Events are how these things interrelate. Stories are what we do with characters and events…how we make sense of them.
This exercise is about placing things, creating space, and arranging action.
Determine (design) a location (a space, fictive or otherwise).
Consider between 3 and 10 “things” that might go into this space.
Place your “things’ into the space, considering location, scale, and distance.
Think about the interrelationship of things and about colour and tonality too.
Formats
Note: It is important to consider what you hope to achieve and what the format of the painting can offer. Formats (landscape, square, portrait, panorama and tondo), but ovals and even triangles have been used by painters. Consider how actual space and the illusionistic space can be ordered within these formats, which includes assessing the possible uses and the content of foreground, middle ground and background. Think of how what you intend to paint might fit into the chosen format and/or intersect with its edges.
Japan - Mount Fuji.
Mount Fuji, or 'Fujisan' as it is known in Japan, is a beloved national symbol and a cultural icon that has captured people's hearts for centuries. As Japan's highest mountain peak and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it is a popular destination for tourists and locals alike.
The first glimpse of Mount Fuji is definitely a moment of breathtaking wonder. The sheer magnitude of the mountain (standing at 3,776 metres) makes you feel humbled and small. The view of Mount Fuji is particularly stunning during the cherry blossom season in spring when the vibrant colours of the surrounding nature add to the already awe-inspiring backdrop.
The Japanese people consider the mountain sacred and believe it has a spiritual presence. The mountain evokes feelings of respect, awe, and a sense of connection to the natural world.
Famous poems use the mountain as a source of inspiration for many Japanese poets and writers throughout history. Here is an example:
“It is with awe
That I beheld
Fresh leaves, green leaves,
Bright in the sun.”
Matsuo Basho
Matsuo Basho (1644-1694) is Japan's most famous haiku poet, certainly its most famous poet. He was historically important in developing the form during the Genroku Period, the high point of the Japanese Renaissance, which has so much in common with the Elizabethan Period in England, which came just 100 years earlier.
Haiku, or hokku as it was known in Basho's day, is one-breath poetry, traditionally seventeen syllables (5-7-5), usually presented in translation in three or four lines. With its subtle yet succinct literary structure, the haiku is particularly suited for emotive expression and even spiritual revelation, executed through the delicate use of metaphors depicting the passing seasons of nature as well as domestic scenes from everyday life.
“What is important is to keep our mind high in the world of true understanding and returning to the world of our daily experience to seek therein the truth of beauty. No matter what we may be doing at a given moment, we must not forget that it has a bearing upon our everlasting self, which is poetry.”
Basho was an exceptional poet but did not believe in the modern idea of art for art’s sake. Instead, he hoped that his poetry would reflect two of the most important Zen ideals: wabi and sabi.
Wabi, for Basho, meant satisfaction with simplicity and austerity, while sabi refers to contented solitude. Take the spring scene of Mount Fuji, which appears to ask so little of the world and is an appreciation of the everyday:
"First cherry budding by peach blossoms."
Matsuo Basho
Walter J.Phillips
I have also been researching Walter J Phillips and his woodblocks (separate blog post). I enjoy the calm nature of this work and the serene, tranquil nature of Morning. Can I capture this depth and atmosphere yet ensure the power and awe of the mountain is still present?
Walter Joseph Phillips - Morning, 1924 - Woodcut printed in colours- artsy.net
Materials and process.
While browsing a home store's shelves, I found an unusual canvas/picture. I purchased the picture after asking myself this question-
Could I encase Mount Fuji within the circle?
Unusual frame/canvas.
Watercolour paper.
Encaustic wax.
Ink.
Acrylic paint.
Rose gold leaf.
Glue gun and glue sticks.
I used several postcards of woodblock prints to influence and inspire me. My memory and images of Japan and reflection on the poetry of Matsuo Basho.
I experimented with the encaustic wax and used the gold leaf to guild the surface.
I experimented with metal washers for the blossoms blooms, and pink acrylic ink splashed over the glass. Neither of these worked, and after reflection, I decided to splash paint in a chaotic manner. Was this my frustration?
Reflection so far.
I have a 'far' and will have the blossom as a 'near' when I paint it in. I have Encastic grasses in the mid-ground. Do I need to make those more prominent? Experiment and try, eh?
I have a circle and two equal cut-out semi-circular/rectangle fusions. Are these elements/characters, though?
I think I have created enough space and dimension in the picture plane. I don't want to overcomplicate the piece - less is more sometimes.
I want to create majesty and narrative for the awesome mountain and keep things elegant and more simplistic. A Wabi Sabi feeling maybe?
Ongoing process Images.
Title
Sakura is the Japanese word for cherry blossom. It symbolises the transient nature of life and beauty, as cherry blossoms bloom for only a short period each year. The word 'sakura' is often associated with spring, renewal, and the beauty of nature. What is an anagram of Sakura? An anagram of 'Sakura' is 'Karusa'. Could that be an option for a title?
What do I want to stay with my title? I want the word to be a moment in time, the moment when I saw the power of the mountain, the sheer magnitude of the dormant volcano.
I used heat to melt the wax, which seemed to be the correct process. What words or processes are connected with a volcano's heat that I can use as a title?
Wikipedia says -
'Tephra' is unconsolidated pyroclastic material produced by a volcanic eruption. It consists of a variety of materials, typically glassy particles formed by the cooling of droplets of magma, which may be vesicular, solid or flake-like, and varying proportions of crystalline and mineral components originating from the mountain and the walls of the vent. As the particles fall to the ground, they are sorted to a certain extent by the wind and gravitational forces, forming layers of unconsolidated material. The particles are further moved by ground surface or submarine water flow. Tephra is the mountain then, one and the same, all fragments of rock ejected into the air by an erupting volcano. Most tephra falls back onto the slopes of the volcano, enlarging it.
Tephra.
Mixed media, encaustic wax in a tri-shaped encased glass frame.
References.
Marvelly, P. (no date) Matsuo Bashō: The Narrow Road to the Deep North, www.theculturium.com. Available at: https://www.theculturium.com/matsuo-basho-the-narrow-road-to-the-deep-north/ (Accessed: 29 April 2023).
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