Gareth Naylor

Atmospheric paintings of Japan

Author: Gareth Naylor

  • Watercolor painting of an old-fashioned Japanese street that I found by accident

    Watercolor painting of an old-fashioned Japanese street that I found by accident

    I can’t say I like this painting very much.

    It’s not particularly well painted. 

    But it was painted around 2011 when I was still learning watercolor painting and struggling very much with this mercurial medium.

    And this painting reminds me of how I would cycle around the city looking for beautiful or interesting scenes to paint.

    Normally I was thoroughly disappointed.

    But occasionally I would find something beautiful or interesting and this was one such time.

    I was cycling through a dense cluster of unremarkable houses on the edge of the city when I turned a corner and came to this street of old-fashioned Japanese buildings. 

    It was such a surprise.

    I’m not sure if this street is beautiful but it is very interesting and I enjoyed the surprise.

    I wonder if many people in Oita city even know about this street.

    Older buildings are interesting because they are full of ornamentation. 

    I see a lot of new houses being built in Oita city and although these houses are okay and I think very nice to live in, they have no ornamentation. 

    It seems that ornamentation is anathema in modern building. 

    But perhaps the reason is that it would be too expensive nowadays to have such ornamentation not unless it could be quickly done by a machine.

    For me, there is a kind of poverty in that.

    This is not to say I like all older buildings in Japan. 

    I think many of the buildings in the Showa period are very ugly. 

    But the Taisho period and earlier produced some beautiful buildings.

    And as I look at the buildings along this street I feel a love for the interesting surfaces and patterns they used on the walls of these buildings as well as the heavy tiled and ornate roof tops.

    Distinctiveness, beauty and craftsmanship have disappeared in the bland modern world.

    Gareth.

  • Watercolor painting of a small boat on a Japanese river

    Watercolor painting of a small boat on a Japanese river

    This picture was painted around 2011.

    At that time, I was getting on my bicycle with my art gear and cycling off into the Japanese countryside.

    I call this period my wilderness years.

    And one of my favorite cycling routes was this river.

    It’s called Ono river.

    The path by this river is in very good condition and it goes deep into the countryside.

    The views along the path are interesting and sometimes beautiful.

    Eventually the path takes you to a very rocky place.

    It’s a bit creepy.

    I wrote about this place in another story that you can read here.

    I’ve even cycled to the end of this river path a few times and then started cycling by the side of the road. 

    This is not as pleasant as cycling by the river.

    By the river it is flat.

    Whereas by the road it can become very hilly or mountainous.

    And I remember one time coming off that river path and starting to cycle on a road.

    After a short while, the road slowly started going up a mountain. 

    I must have been cycling up that mountain road for about 30 minutes before I decided to quit. 

    I realized that if I got to the top then I would come down the other side but that I would have to cycle back up it in order to return home.

    Although I had a lot of stamina in those days it would have exhausted me because after the mountain it was still a long way to cycle home.

    Anyway, the painting above is one of the scenes I saw along Ono river.

    I remember painting this picture and feeling pleased with it.

    I was especially happy with the rendering of the rocks.

    This scene depicts a part of the river where it starts to become more rocky.

    I loved the little island of rock in the middle of the river.

    For me, it was quite unusual and an interesting subject to paint.

    There were also some people launching a boat onto the river on the day I saw this scene. 

    And that probably made me paint it as they completed the scene by acting as a focal point in the painting.

    That’s all,

    Gareth.

  • Watercolor painting of two people walking beneath a vast sky

    Watercolor painting of two people walking beneath a vast sky

    This painting is an enigma.

    Firstly, I’m not sure when I painted it.

    I’m guessing it was around 2011.

    Secondly, I can’t remember doing this painting.

    And thirdly, I have no idea where this place is.

    Yet this painting intrigues me as it is unlike my other artwork.

    For in this painting, I have given nearly all the space of the paper to the sky.

    I have left just a tiny space for the ground.

    As a result, there is a vast feeling of the sky in this painting.

    I love that feeling.

    I know this painting has flaws. 

    The trees are not bad but they could be improved.

    And although I like the figures, I think the ground area needs to be more interesting.

    But for me it is a huge success because of that wonderful feeling of spaciousness.

    This is possibly one of those paintings that has something special about it and will lead to a series of paintings.

    For as I look at this painting I feel inspired to paint more pictures of vast skies.

    I realize that the important thing and also the challenging thing is to make the ground as small as possible.

    Making the ground as small as possible will emphasize the vastness of the sky.

    Thinking about this gets my creative juices flowing.

    And I think that in a future version of this painting I’ll try different kinds of ground, such as coastlines, the tops of houses or a church, maybe even the top of a mountain.

    There are many possibilities.

    It will be so fun if I do that. 

    At the moment I am too busy.

    And I will be busy for quite a while.

    So it might never happen.

    I’ll end though not with a full stop but with an ellipsis …

  • Watercolor painting of pigeons and a puddle in a car park

    Watercolor painting of pigeons and a puddle in a car park

    I’m not certain when I painted this picture. 

    I think it was around 2011.

    It’s certainly an old painting.

    I know the place in this painting very well.

    It’s a car park very close to my house.

    And although I don’t think it is a good painting I’m glad I painted it.

    Because this is a very unusual subject for me to paint.

    It’s not what you think of as a beautiful scene. 

    Namely, a puddle in a car park with a few pigeons.

    And yet I think it is visually interesting.

    There are a few things in particular that I like very much about this painting.

    Such as the reflection of the birds in the puddle, the interesting textures and the shadows on the wall.

    I should throw away this painting.

    I will keep this painting though because it shows me the importance of being a little more adventurous in the subjects that I paint.

    That’s all,

    Gareth.

  • Watercolor painting of the beach at Miyajima

    Watercolor painting of the beach at Miyajima

    Miyajima is one of my favorite places in Japan.

    And I have been there several times.

    It is an island with a shrine built on the beach.

    It is called Itsukushima shrine.

    The buildings of the shrine are on stilts.

    And when the tide comes in the sea comes right up to the buildings.

    It’s very beautiful.

    This painting shows the beach at low tide.

    At low tide it also looks very beautiful because of the puddles on the surface of the beach.

    These puddles slowly get bigger as the tide comes in.

    And one of the things I like about this painting are the puddles.

    They make the painting much more interesting.

    I also like the slightly hazy mountain in the background.

    I achieved that effect through repeated washes.

    This is one of my old paintings.

    I don’t think it is a great painting.

    But I think it conveys a little of the beauty and the magical atmosphere of this place.

    It is also my first painting of Miyajima.

    So this painting has sentimental value for me.

    And it is interesting to compare this old painting with my later paintings of Miyajima.

    I think this painting was done after my second trip to Miyajima.

    But it could have been painted after my first trip.

    I wish that I had dated my old paintings!

    That’s all,

    Gareth.

  • Watercolor painting of a beautiful and peaceful beach scene

    Watercolor painting of a beautiful and peaceful beach scene

    This is Itogahama beach. 

    It is in Hiji town, Oita prefecture.

    This painting of the beach was done in about 2011. 

    And I think I painted this picture on location.

    Although I don’t think it is a great painting I still quite like it. 

    This is because it has a pleasing soft and misty feeling.

    Also as I look at this painting I feel a calmness. 

    I have since done many more paintings of this beach.

    And it is interesting to compare those paintings with this one and to see the change in my work.

    There are many things about this scene that make it a good painting subject, such as the distant mountains, the rocky outcrops and the dramatic steep cliffs.

    Those cliffs with the trees on top are fun to paint.

    There are many buzzards in those trees and often they come out and glide high up over the beach.

    I remember clearly walking along this beach to that second outcrop of rocks. 

    I wanted to see what was past that outcrop. 

    I have a strong desire to look beyond a coastal outcrop, or another turn in the road, or a mountain to see what lies beyond.

    I think that I’m partly driven by curiosity and partly by the hope of finding a beautiful scene to paint.

    But it was quite dangerous in this case as that second outcrop is a very rocky terrain with almost no flat areas.

    And the rocks were wet and very slippery. 

    Still I persevered through this uninviting terrain and at last I saw past this outcrop. 

    Ironically, despite all that effort I can’t remember very well what I saw. 

    I think I saw a wide inlet and in the middle of it a small fishing port.

    I don’t think it was a remarkable scene otherwise I would probably have taken a photo of it and then done a painting from the photo. 

    But that never happened.

    So my exploration efforts were in vain but that has often been the case.

    However, this doesn’t stop me from continuing to explore.

    That’s all,

    Gareth.

  • Watercolor painting of a Japanese festival at night

    Watercolor painting of a Japanese festival at night

    This is a very old painting. 

    I think I painted it in 2011. 

    I know it isn’t a particularly good painting. 

    But I like this painting because I think it captures the friendly and relaxed atmosphere of a Japanese festival. 

    This festival is held at Nagahama in Oita city.

    I used to pronounce it “Namahamu” not “Nagahama” because I have a little dyslexia when I use Japanese. 

    The result though, as in this case, can sometimes be quite funny because “Namahamu” means raw ham.

    And my family often laughs at my silly mispronunciations.

    Well, this place is famous for having the first festival of the year in Oita city. 

    It is also famous for holding the festival in the rainy season. 

    And yes it often rains on at least one day of this three day event. 

    A few years later in 2014 I did a series of paintings of this festival in the rain that turned out really well. 

    During this event there is a traditional Japanese performance at the shrine in Nagahama.

    Below is a painting of this performance.

    I think though that this was the New Year festival as the people watching are wearing coats.

    Watercolor painting of people watching a Shinto performance
    “Shinto performance”

    That’s all,

    Gareth.

  • Watercolor paintings of the sun setting over Beppu bay

    Watercolor paintings of the sun setting over Beppu bay

    Beppu Bay is in Oita prefecture, Japan.

    This place is just a 10 minute bicycle ride from my house.

    This is wonderful for painting but a bit of a worry if we ever get a tsunami.

    From my side of the bay at evening time you have a perfect view of the sun setting behind the distant mountains.

    Around 2011, when these paintings were done, I often cycled to this coastal place and painted the sunset.

    It was a wonderful experience.

    Although the enjoyment was lessened by my struggles with trying to paint a sunset scene in watercolor.

    There is a big concrete sea wall here that I would sit upon and where I would paint. 

    It was a very wide and flat surface and ideal for painting. 

    The concrete was also warm because it had soaked in all the heat of the day.

    And in the evening time as the temperature cooled the concrete would release the heat.

    Between the wall and sea is a huge pile of concrete tetrapods.

    The tetrapods appear to have been just thrown on top of one another. 

    It is so ugly.

    And when I first saw them I felt so disappointed.

    But I can’t change that.

    Normally, though, I don’t include them in my paintings.

    Fishermen stand on these concrete tetrapods. 

    They are very quiet.

    And I am always surprised to see fishermen arriving when I am leaving and it is becoming cold and dark. 

    I very rarely have any interaction with them.

    But I find them an interesting addition to my sea paintings.

    And one time, I remember a fisherman catching a very big fish.

    He was so happy and he wished to give me the fish. 

    But I had no bag to put the fish in so I politely refused his generosity.

    The only drawback to this wonderful painting spot are the funamushi, or sea roaches. 

    They are harmless, but who wants a black bug with lots of legs crawling up the leg of your pants.

    And I should add that they are crawling up the inside of your pants.

    But nothing is perfect.

    And they are harmless.

    Anyway, I should talk about the paintings.

    So in the first painting, you have the mountains partially covered in mist. 

    I was very happy with this painting and have since done several more paintings based on this one.

    I obviously used too much yellow and yet in some ways I like that excessive touch of yellow. 

    I think it is good to be excessive in my artwork.

    Because I am too timid.

    Also, being excessive increases the excitement and gets the creative juice flowing.

    Watercolor painting of a dramatic evening sky over Beppu bay
    “Enchanting evening sky over Beppu bay”

    The second painting is a very dramatic evening scene of Beppu bay.

    I’m happy with the variety of colors in the sky.

    And I’m happy with the strong contrast of warm and cool colors in the sky. 

    I think that I managed to express an epic feeling to the sky.

    And you can see the warm lights of Beppu city at the bottom of the distant mountain. 

    These soft and twinkling specks of light appear almost magical as the evening sunlight disappears.

    Watercolor painting of a small fishing boat on Beppu bay at evening time
    “A peaceful evening moment”

    The third painting is a much simpler and less dramatic image of Beppu Bay.

    But I like the feeling of calmness in this painting. 

    The original painting had no boat in the foreground.

    I added that boat later.

    It was from a photo I had taken on another occasion.

    I remember being surprised by how well this addition worked out. 

    And I further remember a person who liked this painting very much.

    She was very interested in buying it. 

    But in the end she never did. 

    However, she did buy another painting so it worked out well in the end.

    But it didn’t work out well for this painting because one day I threw this painting away.

    This is because although I thought it was quite a good painting, my later work is so much better.

    Also, I have too many paintings and it’s a big problem.

    Luckily I still had an image of this painting so I could show another one of my very few early paintings of Beppu bay. 

    That’s all,

    Gareth.

  • Painting of a Japanese shrine from my long ago bicycle adventures

    Painting of a Japanese shrine from my long ago bicycle adventures

    I know the place in this painting very well.

    But I don’t know when I painted this picture.

    It is a very old painting.

    I could have painted this picture as far back as 2010.

    At that time I was getting on my bicycle and cycling deep into the Japanese countryside.

    I was looking for scenes to paint.

    I had many adventures.

    And at that time of my life I could cycle all day.

    And sometimes I would cycle all day and find nothing to paint.

    I’ll always remember the route that I would take.

    It led from Oita river path to a big road.

    This road went through a very long tunnel that slanted downwards.

    That tunnel was like an echo chamber.

    And the engines of the vehicles reverberated loudly throughout the length of the tunnel.

    And this road led to a very long and wide river called Ono river.

    It was a great river to cycle along.

    And following this river, I could go deep into the Japanese countryside.

    I call this period of bicycle painting adventures my wilderness years.

    It was a period of exploring the Japanese countryside for beautiful scenes to paint.

    And it was a period of improving my watercolor painting skills.

    I experienced a lot of frustration in those years but it was also exciting.

    Anyway, it was on one of these trips that I discovered this shrine.

    I was so delighted because I thought this shrine was very beautiful.

    And the painting above was done on the spot.

    I used to take all my painting equipment with me in those days, even my easel.

    I was so serious!

    At that time, I was pleased with this painting.

    But nowadays I don’t think it is such a good painting.

    And you are lucky to see this painting.

    Because I would like to throw away this painting.

    I only keep it because it is one of my few remaining paintings from my bicycle painting adventures.

    That said, I think there are some good points about this painting.

    The composition is quite interesting.

    And the buildings look good. 

    I like the combination of warm orange and cool blue on the roof.

    That is particularly good.

    But the trees and bushes don’t look good.

    They look messy and overcomplicated. 

    If the trees and bushes were simplified then this might be a very good painting.

    However, I feel no strong desire to improve this painting.

    At one time I would have forced myself to paint the picture again.

    But nowadays, I think that it’s important to paint something only if I feel a desire to paint.

    This is because desire contains energy, excitement and interest. 

    And in my opinion when you have energy, excitement and interest then there is much more chance of painting a beautiful work of art.

    That’s all,

    Gareth.

  • Painting of the beautiful autumn foliage in a Japanese park

    Painting of the beautiful autumn foliage in a Japanese park

    I painted this picture roughly around 2010.

    At this time I was struggling a lot at watercolor painting.

    And I noticed that I didn’t paint the trees and bushes well in nearly all my paintings during this period.

    But in this particular painting I painted the trees and bushes very well.

    I especially like the touches of yellow in the painting.

    They really stand out.

    And they have lovely shapes and nice edges.

    This place is Nanase park.

    It’s a very large and beautiful park.

    It is on the edge of the city and there are spectacular views of fields and distant mountains.

    And I have been to this park many times, sometimes as a family trip and sometimes as a painting trip.

    Normally, I do paintings of the river at this park. 

    So this painting is a different subject matter from what I normally paint.

    That’s all,

    Gareth.