Melbourne Art Book Fair 2016

an illustration from Following, 2016

I'm launching a new book at Melbourne Art Book Fair starting Friday 29 April to Sunday 1 May at National Gallery of Victoria with Jeff Maser Bookseller from Berkeley, CA.

I have been extremely fortunate to be working with Jeff, Andrea (Jeff Maser Bookseller) and unbelievably talented graphic designer Stephen Horsley at Propellant in London.

The book is called 'Following' and is a visual book (with a short intro) with only images to guide the story through. Story is based on my secret experience of seeing a little boy who followed me when I was a child.

Jeff, Andrea and Stephen did such a marvelous job designing this book - when I saw Stephen's mock-up design, it was one of the most exciting moment in my work.

My huge respect to graphic designers.

I'll be there at NGV with Jeff and Andrea and there is an exciting launch event on 1 May, 2:30-3:00!

We'll be displaying original artwork and we'll say a few words...

If you are free, please come and we can chat too!

Melbourne Art Book Fair

29 April - 1 May

Free Entry

NGV International

180 St Kilda Road

Melbourne

Book launch, presented by Jeff Maser Bookseller

1 May 2:30-3:00

Discussion space, NGV International

Display of original artworks and a little bit of speeches :)

an illustration from Following 2016

I want more rabbits!

I want more rabbits! original book

 I want more rabbits! is a little book about multiplying rabbits I made while I was artist in residence at Australian Tapestry Workshop.

It's a concertina book with original drawings of watercolour and ink.

I want more rabbits! original book

I then decided that I also want to make a digital print version of this because I wanted to multiply these multiplying rabbits.

So I scanned and got my friend and font king Cameron to help me coordinate the books with additional cool English and Japanese fonts. 

I want more rabbits! digital print zine

I want more rabbits! digital print zine

I want more rabbits! digital print zine

They are available through me or Sticky Institute or Port Jackson Press in Melbourne at the moment!
I hope they will multiply in different locations soon.

Latest artist books

Here are the latest artist books being exhibited at Adore in Bird's Gallery.
More details are available on my website.

Invasion

Invasion, 2013

Details, Invasion, 2013

Snake forest

Snake forest, 2013

Details, Snake forest, 2013

Rachel book

Rachel book, 2013

Rachel book, 2013

These books are on display during the exhibition at Bird's Gallery until 11 May.

Bird's Gallery
236 High Street
Kew

I'll be making more books this year when I have the residency at Australian Tapestry Workshop from July to September this year. Can't wait!

Palette works

Surge, 2013

I made a watercolour drawing on palette called Surge made for Exquisite Palette Exhibition 2013 at St Luke Artist Colourmen.
I've decided to have rabbits running from the hole on the palette.
Too many rabbits are never enough.

detail, Surge

Here are other really exquisite palettes made by my friends.

Damon Kowarsky, 2013

Damon Kowarsky's palette is a etching and aquatint print of a view of Darb al Ahmar district in Cairo.

It feels as though I'm looking at an old photograph in a dark room...

Hyun Ju Kim, 2013

Hyun Ju Kim made a beautifully detailed mixed media drawing. It may be hard to see in the photo but all tones are made by layering different colours of fine lines. As always I can't keep my eyes off her drawing of wonderful world of colourful plants, monsters and birds.

St Luke's Exquisite Palette exhibition 2013 opens from 10 April - 8 May 2013

St Luke Artist Colourmen
32 Smith Street
Collingwood
VIC 3066
info@stluke.com
03 9486 9992

dooodles

it's pretty cold in melbourne, time to stay indoors and doodle...

masks

i guess i really miss my family in japan... it's end of summer over there, must be still hot!

baby mothra

“the spirit which inhabits these places is bad, inhuman, hostile; it belongs to an exhausting, cruel and constantly accelerating machine. Deep down, everyone… desires its destruction" Michel Houellebecq, Approaches to Distress

solitary rain

“Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe.”
- Albert Einstein

River rubble

Doodle time capsules

I have been drawing every day and night, even at my casual temp job at the reception. (job is priority though, really!)
I often like my drawings at work better than when I'm in my studio concentrating to make something nice.
Not always, but I seem to make things I like when I'm on the phone with someone I don't know about.


I figured that I can work better when I'm not trying and I'm not aware of what exactly I'm doing.
And then I'd come back to the studio after work and try to re-draw from what I got from daytime.
Quite often those little drawings end up being nothing but they always serve other purpose in my studio.


They work really well as my time capsules.
I will look at them in few years time and feel nostalgic / embarrassed / inspired etc...
I actually looked at my 6-years-old sketch books for ideas recently.
I thought I'd use bits and pieces of them as they were unexpectedly interesting.
They are my strictly secret books as they are too embarrassing.


I used to think there is some sort of divine power that descends on to genius artists with some inspirations and ideas.
That's a bit of an exaggeration but I did think I needed to be a super creative inventor of everything brand new.
So absurd!
I believe now that inspiration and creativity come from exploring, re-examining and transforming own experiences and existing ideas, re-thinking about memories or images that are archived in my head somewhere. I don't believe I can ever be a super inventor of original art that no one has ever seen before.
Everyone gets inspired from someone else's great works and ideas.
I guess important thing for me is to create something that people already know or seen but from a new or a different perspective.
So I will keep my daily drawing.... secretly.... at my reception in the office.

Yokai

Since I was little, I have always been fascinated by Yokai.
My all time favorite comic is about them too.
Yokai is a Japanese supernatural beings often from folklore.
They are kind of like monsters but some of them are treated like gods too in Shinto.

There are many types of Yokai.
Ordinary household items that come to life after many years, humans transformed into one by extreme emotional state or animals that have lived long enough to have magical power, to name a few.


I'm trying to depict Yokai with different media like books and drawings.

Maybe I'll try making a sculpture next time.....

Edible trees

More trees + an island from the obsessive weekend.
Pure Pleasure!

Soul of flowers

On the weekend, I was obsessed.
Obsessed with drawing what looks like trees.




I felt something had popped in my head!
I don't think I ever did drawing like this.


I looked at them today and remembered a poem I saw when I was in primary school year 4.


Please excuse my poor translation.....

Soul of flowers by Misuzu Kaneko

Souls of fallen flowers,
Born every last one,
In Buddha's flower garden

Because flowers are gentle,
When the sun is calling,
They pop open and smile,
Giving sweet nectar to butterflies,
Giving their scent to people

When wind calls "Come",
They still follow it gently,

Even their corpses,
Become a meal in a playhouse

Nib!!

I bought a pack of Arches 300gsm Hot Press watercolour papers.
It's so perfect for not only watercolour but also line work by nib.

I'd been using Saunders Waterford 300gsm with rough surface since I was a student.
It's great for watercolour and a little bit cheaper than Arches. I love looking at this rough surface catching watercolour wash and then slowly creating bleeding effect by itself.
However I couldn't manage to do a nib drawing on this paper. Nib couldn't move on a rough surface smoothly and I'd end up getting blobs of ink and ruining whole image. (I call it nib's poop)



Now I can do nib endlessly. When I first got my nib, it felt so great I couldn't stop drawing all night.
So smooth!



I can imagine me doing more detailed watercolour work on this paper.
Or maybe I could make artist books!

Good reminder for me of how important it is to choose the right materials.

More detailed images are on my etsy shop