Time - Digital Painting
It is with great excitement that I’m sharing my latest painting. I feel like it’s been ages since I shared new work. With our travels to New Zealand and a quick trip back to the US for a wedding my time spent painting has been minimal. Despite all the busyness I’ve pushed ahead little by little on this piece.
I created it for a competition and for myself. Here is what I said about it in my entry:
This past month I spent the afternoon at a place called Kura Tawhiti on the South Island of New Zealand. Kura Tawhiti means “the treasure from a distant land”. It was a central location for Mauri food gathering, trade and hunting. Resting on a rock eating our lunch I was struck by the realization that, perhaps, dozens of family groups could have sat in this very place sharing food. Inspired I spent the rest of the day sketching and documenting the different rock formations. Wandering through and around each new boulder I wondered if I would encounter some sign of the past etched in the stone. For me, the stones reflect the passage of time. They bear the marks of weather and of man.
Once back home in Japan I followed up with a few smaller outings for more reference. Kura Tawhiti, the stones and ever shifting weather patterns here, my own personal experiences of loss and reunion all joined to form the inspiration for this painting. I felt that the story of loss, of death, and reunion was a fitting and personal way to portray time.
Inspiration aside this piece was also a test in patience. I felt I’ve grown as an artist creating it, breaking down my composition in the middle of my process and pushing it further than previous paintings. If anything I’ve come out of it an improved artist ready to tackle more paintings.