Gareth Naylor

Atmospheric paintings of Japan

Tag: 2012

  • Paintings of mother and baby

    Paintings of mother and baby

    In 2012 my daughter Annie was born. 

    And every day I would see these wonderful scenes of mother and baby together.

    So I did a lot of sketches and sometimes even a few paintings. 

    Here are two of the paintings and a sketch.

    I especially like the painting above of mother and baby sleeping together.

    For me, it is an image of perfect peace.

    I know that I didn’t paint the baby’s face very well but I still think it is a good painting.

    Watercolor painting of a mother sitting on a chair and holding her baby.
    “Mother and child”

    Here is another painting of mother and baby but this time awake. 

    I’m so grateful for those net curtains in both paintings as they provide a beautiful background.

    Pencil sketch of a mother sitting on a chair and holding her daughter. Both are asleep.
    “Mother and child sleeping”

    And here is a pencil drawing of mother and baby that I am quite pleased with. 

    I think my wife’s face doesn’t look very relaxed in this drawing. 

    In actuality, I think it was. 

    But I’m showing this drawing despite that because I still think it is a very good drawing and full of very exciting and energetic strokes.

    That’s all,

    Gareth.

  • Watercolor painting of a woman sitting in a chair

    Watercolor painting of a woman sitting in a chair

    For a long time I haven’t drawn my family.

    But in the past I would often draw them.

    And occasionally I would do a painting of one of my family members.

    I especially enjoyed drawing my wife because she looks so feminine and elegant.

    I sometimes like to look at her fingers and toes which are particularly nice in shape and length. 

    My fingers and toes are short and stubby.

    And I am very happy with the painting of her above.

    This painting was done in 2012.

    I did several paintings of her in front of these net curtains. 

    I noticed that the folds in the net curtains made an interesting and beautiful background.

    At the same time the pattern of the folds is delicate and doesn’t compete with the subject which is the figure.

    When painting a figure, I have learnt that the background is one of the most important and also one of the most difficult considerations.

    Perhaps I need to start doing paintings of figures again.

    Especially as I enjoy it very much and because such paintings can look very interesting.

    It is also a subject that I haven’t explored very much which makes it exciting.

    The biggest problem is finding somebody.

    Pencil drawing of a woman with a floppy hat sitting on the ground
    “Female elegance”

    And here is a drawing of my wife wearing a floppy hat.

    Like the painting above, this drawing was done in 2012.

    I am very pleased with this pencil drawing.

    However, I don’t like to draw with a pencil.

    Because although you can achieve some beautiful effects with a pencil they smudge too much.

    With this pencil drawing, I did an orange wash over the pencil lines in order to stop them smudging.

    You can spray it with a fixative but I never do. 

    I don’t like any kind of aerosol. 

    I think that those tiny particles coming out of aerosols must get into your lungs and be harmful. 

    And this is why despite having a full can of fixative in my artbox it never gets used!

    I have no idea what I’ll do with it. 

    I guess one day it will just get binned.

    But that would be so wasteful and so for now I just keep it.

    That’s all,

    Gareth.

  • Painting of a steep flight of steps going up to a Japanese shrine

    Painting of a steep flight of steps going up to a Japanese shrine

    Watercolor painting of a steep flight of steps going up to a Japanese shrine
    “Visiting the shrine with grandfather”

    I think this place is in or near Wasada.

    Wasada is a region on the outskirts of Oita city.

    In this region, the urban landscape starts to disappear and farmhouses and fields begin to appear.

    I found this place by chance during one of my cycling adventures.

    This steep flight of steps was a good subject for a painting as it is not too high and it has that interesting bend in the middle. 

    This is not always the case.

    On several occasions in the Japanese countryside I have seen similar steep flights of steps going up a hill side. 

    But the ones I can remember were often completely straight and furthermore they were very long as they went up very high hills. 

    Although they were interesting to look at I don’t think they would have made for a good painting because of the sheer scale.

    And I couldn’t help thinking that it would have been exhausting to climb up them.

    I read that in Kumamoto, the prefecture next to Oita, which is where I live, there is one shrine that has a flight of 3333 stone steps and the distance is just over 2 kilometers. 

    It is the longest flight of steps to a shrine in Japan. 

    It takes about 90 minutes to climb to the top.

    Anyway, at the beginning of the flights of steps there is a distinctive stone gate, called Torii in Japanese, that tells you this is the entrance to a Shinto shrine.

    This gate also marks the passage from the mundane world to the sacred.

    I added the figures from my imagination. 

    I thought it would be a nice image to show a boy and his grandfather visiting the shrine together. 

    I’m quite happy with how I painted these figures.

    I am not so happy though with the trees in the background at the top of the hill.

    They are a bit faint and need to be a bit stronger. 

    And perhaps the foliage could be simplified a little more because it looks a little scrappy.

    But overall I think this is an interesting and good painting.

    That’s all,

    Gareth.

  • Watercolor painting of a woman sitting and writing in a cafe

    Watercolor painting of a woman sitting and writing in a cafe

    Watercolor painting of a woman sitting and writing in a cafe
    “Mystery woman in a coffee shop”

    Sadly, I have no idea when I painted this picture.. 

    I’m guessing that it was 2012.

    But it’s just a guess.

    And I have no idea where this place is.

    Neither do I know who the woman is in the painting.

    She could be my wife or a complete stranger.

    I should have kept some record of my work such as a pencil date on the back of the picture and a brief note about the place or person.

    But in my salad days I was just focused on painting.

    And that was a wonderful freedom.

    And hopefully such deep focus made me a better artist.

    But later on, it caused a big conundrum when it came to organising my work.

    Because I didn’t record my artwork.

    And also because I have painted a lot of pictures.

    I think that I presently have about a 1000 paintings even after throwing many paintings away.

    Anyway, I found this small painting while I was attempting to organize my artwork.

    And what I can say about this picture is that I like it. 

    And this is why it never got thrown away like so many other paintings.

    I love the shape of those chairs and the soft atmosphere of this scene.

    The colors are also pleasing with the contrast of a warm brown and a cool blue.

    Perhaps I should call this painting “A mystery woman in a coffee shop”.

    What do you think?

    What title would you give it?

    If you can think of a great title I will let you have the painting for half the price.

    That’s all,

    Gareth.