Handmade Japanese

The Story Behind A Famous Montage

Only a small group of artists can effectively get into the portrait business, which requires an adequate depiction of emotions, moods, and fleeting moments. On the living room walls of a Marion home are portraits made by a self taught artist, who lives there with his wife. He put together the faces of an American tap dancer, an actor a scientist, the composite between three famous comedians, the traditional cast members of a long running science fiction TV series, a former TV reporter, various rock stars, athletes and entertainers, and his friends for a single montage called “Faces”. The first step he takes is grabbing stills from videos, which gives him surprising results. All these faces were his influences over the year and a half he took to complete the montage. For more information on paintings check out children’s painted portraits.

Individual portraits of the lead singer from Babes in Toyland, a Russian gymnast, and a songwriter decorate the other walls. His works are mostly done with pencil, graphite, and charcoal. He tried conte crayon and then colored pencils. For his first colored pencil drawing, he used his wedding photo, taken with his Japanese wife, who is originally from Kobe. American drawing met Japanese wood block print in this work. Adding personal and Japanese symbols, he began the drawing with his wedding photograph, taken at City Hall in December 1996, as the foundation. He drew in their three cats, though they were not really present at the wedding. Because it is known to ward off evil spirits, he drew a Japanese opera mask on the face of the first cat. The second cat is rendered in a position that supposedly brings good luck. The couple sports kimonos in the drawing. The kikyo is his wife’s floral matriarchal symbol, which he uses to decorate her. Outside the room, past the third cat that is behind the vertical blinds, is a gingko tree. Longevity is symbolized by the gingko, which the artist thought of drawing after he saw a tree at the University of Iowa. If you like this article on paintings visit famous oil painting artists for more education. The couple first worked together on this 1997 drawing. He said his wife helped him a lot in composing and checking out ideas. His wife says the drawing is one of their prizes. Landscapes are his next stage of evolution as an artist, onto which he will draw people, his favorite things to draw. Books are his primary exposure, with four featured and one on the cover, though he has not had his own exhibit. It was a staff member who presented his work to the book editor. He was sent an email by the editor, commending him for his technique, combination of portraiture with architecture, and blend of intelligence and humor. As a kid, he drew mostly action heroes and rock stars, and he has traveled far since those days. His skills are so refined that he can portray on paper any image or impression. First, he perceives reality, which he improves with his own additions or abstractions.

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