Painting a mountain in watercolor
Watercolor painting of Aso mountain in Kumamoto prefecture, Japan.
Watercolor painting of Aso mountain in Kumamoto prefecture, Japan.
In September of 2014 I climbed up Mt Yufudake. I wanted to paint a picture from the top of the mountain. And I took all my painting equipment, even my easel. However, I stayed on the mountain top too long, watching a beautiful sunset. As I descended the mountain my pleasant painting trip turned into a nightmare.
What is the first thing an artist needs? I’d say passion. And that is something I have in abundance. And it’s a good thing. It means I’m doing the right thing. Passion though makes you do foolish things as you will read in this story.
It’s time to say goodbye to my sandals. My holey, not holy, sandals that is. And I learnt you should never take a walk in nature with holey sandals. But this is what I did and I stepped on something full of tiny needles. One of God’s wonderful creations!
I think it was around 2013 that I discovered this beautiful national park in Fukuoka prefecture. We were visiting my oldest daughter who was studying at Kitakyushu university. On the way home, we took a different route from normal and went through this national park. I was delighted because this is a very strange place with small mountains that are littered with numerous rocks.
In 2012, an old Japanese man asked me if I wanted to go hiking. I eagerly said yes. First he took me to the top of Mt Ryozen. It was my first time climbing that mountain. I really enjoyed it.
I painted this picture a long time ago. I think around 2005 but that is just a rough guess. I had climbed up a mountain called Kuju in Oita prefecture and it had inspired me to do a painting of a mountain scene.