Gareth Naylor

Atmospheric paintings of Japan

Tag: Kitsuki

  • Painting of a beautiful Japanese river at dusk

    Painting of a beautiful Japanese river at dusk

    In April of 2018, I visited a cafe that had a gift shop.

    The gifts were artworks by foreigners living in Japan. 

    The owner, who was herself a foreigner, had asked me to show some of my paintings there.

    I was delighted by this opportunity.

    The shop is near Kitsuki town, which is a very rural area in Oita prefecture.

    And although I’d been to Kitsuki town several times I’d never seen much of the surrounding countryside. 

    It was beautiful.

    I had a lovely time there with my family.

    And I also now have 4 of my paintings on display in the shop.

    We left late because my daughter was having such a good time that she didn’t want to leave. 

    She even cried and said that she wanted to live there. 

    It really touched my heart when she said that.

    But it was getting late and we had to go home.

    Fortunately, once in the car her mood soon changed and she was feeling fine.

    The journey home was a wonderful experience for me.

    As I was driving in the final light of the setting sun, I saw several beautiful scenes. 

    One of them was of the river which for a while ran by the side of the road. 

    There was one particular curve in the road where I caught a glance of the river.

    The view was so beautiful that I had to stop and turn the car around and go back and take some photographs.

    Perhaps what appealed to me was the color of the river. 

    I could see an enchanting mix of warm orange and cool blue hues in the water.

    I was hesitant to do a painting of this scene because normally I paint light.

    So there are often rays of light and strong highlights in my work.

    But in this scene the sun had set and there were no dramatic and powerful contrasts of edge, light and color.

    Instead, this was a soft, muted scene.

    I am glad, though, that I plucked up the courage and tried to paint it.

    It took several attempts before I got a result that I was happy with.

    I’m particularly satisfied with capturing the warm orange and cool blue hues in the water.

    I’m also satisfied with the tranquil feeling that the painting conveys.

    Sadly, none of my paintings sold at the shop.

    I am, though, well acquainted with such disappointments and although it has taken many years of enduring such disappointments, I have become somewhat less perturbed by them.

    And do not take that as resignation.

    Creativity is a living energy that flows in me and I follow it.

    Well that’s all for now,

    Gareth.

  • I got a commission to paint a Japanese torii gate

    I got a commission to paint a Japanese torii gate

    Framed print available to buy

    In 2020, I did an exhibition at the main department store in my local city of Oita.

    It went well and I sold about 12 to 13 paintings.

    Nearly all of these were sales of paintings on display.

    However, I did get 2 commissions.

    And one of them is of this Japanese torii gate in Kitsuki.

    The client goes surfing at this place and so it has sentimental value for him.

    And the client always orders a painting for his wife for their wedding anniversary.

    I’ve been to Kitsuki many times but I’ve never seen this place before.

    And I’m delighted to see it because it’s a beautiful subject matter.

    I’ve heard though that the torii got damaged this year in a strong typhoon.

    However, there is now a campaign to restore it.

    Hopefully, in 2021 I will go to this place and paint the actual scene.

    That’s all for now,

    Gareth.

  • Meeting a water rat while painting Kitsuki estuary

    Meeting a water rat while painting Kitsuki estuary

    Watercolor painting of the estuary by Kitsuki castle
    “Estuary by Kitsuki castle”

    Today was “Marine Day”. It’s called “umi-no-hi” in Japanese and it’s a national holiday. 

    And we, the family, even went to the beach and it was wonderful.

    But before we came to the beach we stopped the car on route and the family had a sleeping break. While they slept I got out of the car and did a painting.

    We had parked next to an estuary in a small Japanese town called Kitsuki. I have painted this estuary a few times. To get a view of the estuary I had to climb over a fairly high sea wall. But when I did I found a very nice scene to paint.

    When the tide is low you can see a lot of sandbanks and fishing boats which makes for a more interesting scene. But the tide was high and there was only one sandbank. It was an enormous sandbank. And there was only one fishing boat so it was a bit of an empty looking scene.

    It was while I was painting this picture, and enduring the smell of rotting fish or worse, that a rat (in Japanese they might say “dobunezumi” which I think means water or gutter rat) suddenly appeared and it was running directly towards me. 

    It was ridiculous, but I was suddenly gripped by fears of being bitten and catching the Bubonic plague as this seemingly mad rat looked like it was charging at me with the intention to bite me. I am a city person and have no idea about the nature of rats.

    I was also thinking that I might be the first person to ever get the Bubonic plague in Japan, who knows?

    But my sudden movement as I rose, startled it and it did a ninety degree turn and went towards the sea. It came to the 2 meter high edge of the sea wall and did a bold leap off, went far through the air and ended the feat with a clean dive into the water. Then it swam (I think about as fast as I can) under the water. Then it came up to the surface near some rocks and started exploring around there. 

    Later it came back and ran past me without much fear. I think it realized that I wasn’t anything to worry about.

    Despite an aversion to rats it moved with such beauty and speed that it was a mesmerizing delight to watch and it could even swim wonderfully well. In fact, it was kind of cute.

    However, to return to the point, which is the painting.

    I was lucky that there was a fishing boat present as this became the focal point for the whole painting.

    I am, though, a little disappointed with the sea. It was a hot day and when I painted the sea it dried quicker than I expected. Luckily, I managed to salvage it with some dry brush strokes. 

    I should add that the building in the middle of the picture and on top of the hill is a Kitsuki castle. The position of this castle within the landscape is perfect and I’m sure that even John Ruskin would have enjoyed the sight of it.

    Here is another painting of this estuary. It has no story to go with it, so by putting it here it feels like giving a stray dog a home.

    Watercolor painting of a fishing boat in Kitsuki estuary
    “Fishing boat in Kitsuki estuary”

    And here is one more painting that is around this area. I am very happy with this one but it also has no story to go with it. 

    Watercolor painting of a beach in Kitsuki
    “Beach in Kitsuki”

    I have so many stray paintings. I wish that I’d learned to write about my painting adventures more and to have not been completely obsessed with just the painting. But it is what it is and I’ll make the best of what it is.

    You can read part two of this trip to Kitsuki here.

    Gareth.

    Postscript 

    This story was originally written in July of 2014. I’m editing it in 2022. 

    I probably shouldn’t have done it but I threw away the original painting that I talk about in this story. 

    That is why you are getting the rather poor image above that is a blown up copy from the small image I found on my computer. 

    Every artist has to throw away some paintings otherwise it becomes overwhelming. I threw away about half of my paintings. 

    And, to be honest, I wasn’t very happy with this painting. 

    But after reading this story I wish that I’d kept it for the sake of the story. Alas.

  • A painting of two fishermen by a beautiful Japanese river

    A painting of two fishermen by a beautiful Japanese river

    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.