Hozuki 02

This design was developed from the first Hozuki picture I created. I wanted to show the passion and heat of summer as well as coolness.

Hozuki 01

This picture expresses my memories of summer. It mixes an image of a fireball and a hozuki plant. In Japanese ghost stories "fireballs" are symbolic of the spirits of ghosts. This is the first in a series of three pictures.

Hozuki plants flower in the summer in Japan. They are used as offerings and decorations for small Buddhist shrines in the home dedicated to one's ancestors. During the Obon season in the summer in Japan, the spirits of one's ancestors are said to return to the family home.

Somen #3

Using the first two paintings in this series, I created this design for a long dress. I tried to make this feel passionate using the black, red and gold colours. This style might be good for modern urban fashion.

Please have a look at the first two paintings in this somen series
Painting #1
Painting #2

Somen #2

This painting uses the first Japanese character of somen - "so" そ. I added colours and some fine brush marks to turn it into a symbol. I'm thinking of using the same technique to paint letters of the alphabet. Please have a look at the first painting in this series here.

Somen #1

My painting
With a single brush stroke I wanted to express the cool feeling of somen noodles. To paint this single brushstroke, I couldn't lift the brush from the paper at all. I had to hold my breath and paint steadily and it took a lot of concentration.

Somen
For Japanese, somen noodles are a representative summer food. They're a great light dish to eat when you feel lethargic and lose your apetitte during the long, hot Japanese summers. For extra nutrition, it's common to eat somen with various topings. Depending on the household, restaurant or region, these toppings include sliced onion, cucumber, stewed meat and various other vegetables which all add to the cool taste.

Click here to find out more about Japanese Somen noodles

Tanabata #3

For this picture I used the first two paintings in my Tanabata series as the design for these clothes. This picture depicts the Tanabata story where the woman "Orihime" prays to her lover "Hikoboshi" or Altair that one day they can meet again.

Please have a look at the other painting in this series:
Tanabata #2
Tanabata #1

Tanabata #2

This picture is inspired by "Tanzaku", a strip of paper that you write your wishes on and tie to  bamboo leaves during the Tanabata festival held in Japan on 7th July.