I think that I painted this river scene around 2013.
It could have been even earlier.
This place is called Kitsuki.
It’s a small Japanese town by the sea with an interesting history and a few interesting old buildings.
One of these old buildings is a castle that is built on a hilltop by the river.
It’s very dramatic.
And it has some nice scenes to paint such as this beautiful river.
Although I’m not sure if I should call it a river or an estuary as a little further on it flows into the sea.
I think this painting was from my first painting trip to Kitsuki.
And this painting trip was quite an adventure for me as it is fairly far away from where I live.
I am very happy with this painting.
I especially like the soft background with those vibrant green trees and the lovely blue behind them.
I think the fishermen were from my imagination.
But I have seen and painted fishermen many times in Japan so I have a good idea about how to paint them.
I’m also very happy with the shore and the rendering of the rocks and the textural effects.
I think this is one of my best old paintings.
And I’m surprised that nobody ever bought it.
Although thinking about this made me realize that my river paintings don’t sell well.
I can only think of one river painting that I have sold.
This was a painting of a Nyuudogumo above my local river.
I think Americans call it a thunderhead cloud.
That painting sold very quickly.
Even if my river paintings don’t sell well, I will continue to paint them because I enjoy painting them.
That’s all,
Gareth.