I have to share!

I don't know why, but I have suddenly got my creative Mojo back! I haven't painted anything outside my sketch book in 3 years (since I painted this).

But tonight, I suddenly felt the urge to paint again. And I'm not talking pocket size. I'm thinking big. Really big. 3 foot by 4 foot canvas to be precise.

I've not put brush to canvas yet, I'm still in the planning stage. My idea is to take some of our Japan photos, the ones that I think really scream Japan and turn them into a comic strip with a little comic caption at the top. The images I've chosen are a snow capped Mt Fuji, a single stem of cherry blossom, a couple of Geisha underneath a vivid red silk umbrella and a night shot of some of the illuminated billboards in Osaka. Up to now, the caption says "Meanwhile in Mt Fuji.... Ninja's strike again!" (remember the ninja restaurant in this post?) but I'd love it if anyone can come up with something better for me?

I'm not going to try and make the images look like photos, I'm going to do a pop art cartoon sort of effect. Like this one I did of Johnny Cash and June Carter from the cover of the film Walk the Line (the first film me and My P saw together - I did it when we bought our first house together - if you look really closely on the bottom right, you can see my old signature before I was Mrs B!).

I absolutely love this painting. And everyone who comes into my house comments on it. So I think it will be great for the new painting to match while being a totally unique piece of art at the same time.

As this is the first big painting I've done since I've been writing this blog, I think I will walk you through my process and take photos for you along the way.

Tonight is step one: The planning.

I knew I wanted my painting to be in honour of our recent trip to Japan and it had to be all of the things that I remember Japan as being.

First thing I did was to think of the first words that come into my head when I think of Japan. Those words were Fuji, Geisha, Blossom, Night Lights, Ninja, Temples, Buddha, Zen, Comics and so on. From these words, I was able to choose the photos I wanted to use in the painting.

Then I did a few doodles to decide on the layout. I wanted it to look like a comic strip so I did a few layouts from different comics and decided on a large image across the top and then a row of three images across the bottom. I didn't want it to be too linear so I've gone for wonky angles with the text in the top left corner. 

Then I had a play around with my photos in Photoshop, I applied filters, distorted the images and messed with the colours until I had 4 pictures that I felt complimented each other, that the colours were balanced and most of all that together, as a comic strip they tell the story of our wonderful trip.

I'm not going to show you the photos I've chosen, I want you to get the full effect when I unveil the finished painting. So watch this space for Step 2 - Pencil on canvas.

Love,

Princess and her paintbrush x

                                               

Snow fun

Wrapped in a velvety blanket of white mist, there was no sign of Mount Fuji today. We're so lucky we got to see it yesterday as we'll probably never have this chance again.

Instead, we hired bikes (I had one with a basket on the front and I can't tell you how excited I was about that! Especially when I got to put my shopping in it!) We took them right around Lake Kawaguchi. The weather wasn't as good as yesterday, it was very cold and by lunch time it was snowing quite heavily. Poor old Paul didn't have any gloves either so his hands have now dropped off with frost bite.

We saw lots more crazy dogs in t-shirts. We saw one very cute one with long curly hair pulled into pig tails with sparkly clips! There was a lovely little black poodle in the restaurant where we stopped for lunch. She had a trick of standing on her hind legs and 'paddling' the air with her front legs. Not quite sure what she was trying to acheive but it was hilarious to watch!

They really are a nation of dog lovers here - the restaurant was dedicated to dogs, it had a doggy assault course in the garden, sold hand made dog biscuits and dog cake, and you are allowed to bring your dog in for dinner with you. It can even sit at the table and enjoy a slice of dog pizza! Every dog you see is in gorgeous condition, lovely wet nose, glossy hair, very healthy. It's lovely to see compared to some countries where there are strays everywhere.

We even saw a dog hotel! I'm sure it was probably just kennels but I love the idea of sending your dog there for a bit of R&R around the pool (after a stressful year of living the dogs life), drinking water from bowls with little umbrellas in, getting pedicures and new hairdos and enjoying a massage from a nice hunky labrador! I think my Maddie would like it there!

We are leaving Mt Fuji tomorrow and heading on to Kyoto for the next seven nights. I'm so looking forward to all the amazing sights that await us. I hope on all hopes that I will get to see a Geisha! There is apparently a place where you can go and they dress you up like a Geisha including doing your hair and makeup! I know what I'm doing as soon as we get there!

We will only have internet access via our Ipod while we are in Kyoto so no more photos (sorry!) until Osaka. Oh and apologies in advance for the state of my blog over the next few days, the blogger app on the Ipod doesn't let you change fonts or justify so I'm going to look a bit messy!

Bye for now!

An update on sleeping in a Ryokan

Sleeping in a Ryokan on tatami mats is like camping. In a carpark. Next to a highway. In winter. Hard on your back, noisy and bloody cold!

On the plus side, I'm now about 3 inches taller!

There are no words. The picture says thousands.

Our first day in Mt Fuji. It could not be more perfect. We hired bikes and rode around Kawaguchi Lake stopping at all of the best vantage points on the way. We ate doughnuts on the viewing platform overlooking the view (could it get any better?) and then we met a man orginally from England, now living in Hong Kong and in Japan on business. He gave us a 15 minute lesson on our digital camera so now we know how to use the settings to take a better photo (see above, you could barely see the mountain on our auto setting - really must do a photography course when we get home!) We also saw a man swimming in the lake, he must have escaped from the local lunatic asylum - it's freezing outside and there is deep snow on top of Fuji!!!

Tomorrow is supposed to be foggy so these are probably the last photos we'll be able to take of Mt Fuji.

Just a few silly photos for you...

Sweat in a bottle... it's supposed to replace electrolytes lost in your body by sweating... think Ill stay dehydrated thanks!

This is a man hole cover! How pretty!

Weird drinks in a vending machine

We are staying in a hostel here in Mt Fuji. In a traditional Ryokan style room. We'll be sleeping on the floor on tatami mats. More news on that tomorrow! That's if I can stand up tomorrow!