Gareth Naylor

Atmospheric paintings of Japan

Tag: Sasebo

  • Magical painting of Japanese islands in the moonlight

    Magical painting of Japanese islands in the moonlight

    I don’t know how it was for you when you were twenty but for me it was a very hard time.

    I lived alone. 

    There was no girlfriend, no friends, no drinking or nightclubbing.

    I could have been living the life of a monk except there was no God in my life either.

    I had a part-time dead-end job in a supermarket and was ‘studying’ at college.

    In reality, I was really like a piece of driftwood just floating around without any meaning or purpose.

    I lived in a silent room with no TV, radio or computer.

    My only company, was the thoughts in my head.

    I’ve never found those thoughts to be reassuring, quite the opposite. 

    Years later, I learnt to pay them no attention and that has served me well.

    You may think life could not be worse. 

    But it could. 

    For there was always the weekly walk to the laundrette.

    Abandon all hope ye that enter was how I felt about entering this place. 

    It was the “mundane” in full force and it seemed to suck all possible magic out of life – not that my life had much magic in it at this time either.

    It was probably for this reason that I would take a fantasy novel with me. 

    The book acted as a magical talisman protecting me against the mundanity of the laundrette.

    And my favorite writer was Jack Vance. 

    There was a kind of magic about his writing, a wonderful exoticness of far away places on other planets, that totally removed me from the laundrette.

    And I think the exoticness of far away places attracted me to Japan. 

    I had dreams of living in a traditional wooden Japanese house in the middle of a rice field.

    In reality I ended up living in a 3 storey concrete apartment. 

    And I found out that modern Japan was actually pretty ugly. 

    Tidy but ugly.

    It was only through trips into the countryside that I started to see the beautiful Japan that I had dreamed about.

    And one day I found the exotic and magical Japan that I’d hoped for. 

    It was a place that seemed to be quintessential Japan.

    It’s called Sasebo and it is in Nagasaki prefecture.

    When I first arrived at this place I almost drove the car off a bridge as I got mesmerized by the view of a huge American naval fleet. 

    It was the first time I’d ever seen such a sight.

    But even more mesmerizing was the boat trip I took later around some of  the 200 islands.

    The shape of some of these islands is strange and beautiful.

    And for me the scene in the painting above with those strangely shaped islands is the kind of thing that the romantic in me was looking for.

    There is something magical here and I keep returning to the photographs I took of these islands and painting another picture.

    In the painting above I wanted to emphasize that magicalness by attempting a moonlit scene.

    I think I succeeded somewhat.

    And that will do for now,

    Gareth.

    Postscript

    I tried to translate the title of this painting “Exotic Islands in the Moonlight” into Japanese and found that the word exotic in Japanese is batakusai (バタ臭い) which literally means smelly butter.

    And I further learnt that this phrase is what Japanese people used to call Westerners.

  • The Kitchen Table Artist

    The Kitchen Table Artist

    A few years ago I met a young man who had decided to live out his dream and become an artist.

    I was quite surprised by his decision because he seemed such a sensible and pragmatic person. 

    I never took him to be the kind of romantic fool that chooses to become an artist – such as myself.

    The first thing he did was rent an apartment room as a studio.

    He thought this was essential. 

    He even grew a wispy beard that made him look somewhat Amish. 

    I must admit, that I was a little shocked by the change as before he’d been a smooth-faced, suit and tie man doing an office job at the local city hall.

    At this point in time, I’d been painting seriously for quite a few years and all without a studio. 

    I’d never even contemplated getting a studio.

    I was also quite poor.

    If I had any money it went on art materials.

    I think this wannabe artist wanted the studio because it was free of distractions. 

    In my opinion, this was already a bad sign.

    And I was right.

    I don’t know what exactly happened, either he didn’t go to the studio, or when he got there he wanted to return to the distractions, but either way it was eventually an expense he couldn’t afford and the studio went and so did the dream of being an artist.

    For some reason, which I still cannot fathom, he had this notion that a real artist needs a studio.

    I suppose as an artist who paints outdoors a lot I know that painting isn’t limited to a studio.

    In fact, for a long time some of my best work was produced outdoors. 

    Perhaps this is because there is a ‘charged’ feeling when you paint outdoors and this energy seems to mysteriously pass into the work.

    But even when you paint indoors, you don’t need a special studio space in order to create beautiful paintings.

    The painting above, for instance, was painted at my kitchen table. 

    And I have a wife and children.

    So this is not some solitary space in which I can be the Artist.

    Yet, despite being painted in such a “humble” setting, I think the painting above is a beautiful piece of artwork.

    And just in case you are wondering.

    This painting is of a place called Sasebo in Nagasaki prefecture. 

    It’s famous for having over 200 islands. 

    For me, it’s a source of deep inspiration.

    Anyway, I wanted to show that beautiful art can be created anywhere if there is the desire or will to do so.

    Of course, if I ever got the chance I’d like a studio too.

    Or at least I think I would. 

    What I really want is for my brush and paper to be about 5 steps from my bed. 

    And that’s what I have now.

    What do you think, is a studio essential for an artist? 

    Did it make a big difference in the quality of your work or in any other way?

    Postscript

    I originally wrote this story in April of 2015. 

    I no longer paint at the kitchen table – much to my wife’s relief. 

    There was a period when I literally colonized the kitchen table and permanently had my art materials on it. 

    The family ate their meals on another table in another room. 

    Sadly, I didn’t put any cover on the table and one area of the table became rotten. 

    It was so bad that vivid green mold began to grow there. 

    I must admit that I was a bit alarmed when I saw that.

    And perhaps it was for this reason, although I’m not sure now, that I migrated to a room upstairs which then became my bedroom and my “studio”.

    That was a much better arrangement for everyone. 

    My brush and paper were about 5 steps from my bed!

    Now I live in another house. 

    But I still have the same arrangement.

    In fact, some might consider it better.

    As my brush and paper are now only about 3 steps from my bed. 

    That’s all for now,

    Gareth.

  • Retreats towards success in painting a difficult subject

    Retreats towards success in painting a difficult subject

    Last year, 2014, I went to Sasebo, which is in Nagasaki, Japan. It is a wonderful place with many many islands. It’s called 99 islands though there are actually over 200.

    I was with the family and thus had no chance to paint on site as I like to do so I had to do my paintings from the photographs I took of this place.

    However, I soon encountered difficulties in trying to paint this scene well.

    And I became thoroughly disappointed with my results.

    I felt like I was trying to paint a scene that was beyond my ability to paint well.

    Finally, I became so disappointed by my repeated poor results that I had to retreat from this particular subject and forget about it. I did this by focusing on other painting subjects.

    After a week or so I returned and had another attempt. Again I got disappointing results and this led to another retreat.

    The third time I met with success. And I consider the painting above one of my successes.

    However, I still feel that even this successful result can be improved upon. And I’m now enjoying doing further paintings of the same scene with some variations.

    Gareth.

    Postscript

    I originally wrote this story in February of 2015.