My art expresses my feelings which are based on my experiences in the world and in my imaginations, so that I express the universe to which I belong. I sketch things many times as preparation, and I use nihonga (Japanese Painting) as the method and materials to paint. The nihonga material and method stimulate and inspire me to create my world of art as well.
I have basically kept using the same medium and method, nihonga, for long time, because the material and method of nihonga, itself, stimulates and inspires me to create my art. Nihonga means a particular painting style with Japanese traditional method and materials. Besides sumi (Japanese India ink), iwaenogu (Japanese dry pigments made from natural materials such as mineral) are bound together with nikawa (the glue made from animal skin and bones) and applied on Japanese paper or cloth such as silk. Even today, mixing iwaenogu and nikawa is done each time by hand; because, in order to make fine and deep tones requires many layers of pigments with different density of nikawa, and the proportion of pigments and nikawa also has to be changed appropriately for each layer. These proportion and density are important factors to finish a fine painting.
The intensive labor of nihonga takes a lot of time and patience. But this process is important for me. Mixing iwaenogu and nikawa or rubbing a sumi stick makes me concentrate on creating a world on a piece of paper. The feeling of the brush loaded with pigment touching on paper comes through my hand and stimulates my brain, that orders the next operation to my hand. It is a meditative process; I am almost in an unconscious state while I paint. I love this process so much that even though it has been twenty years since I first started working with this material for my art, I still find it fascinating.
Besides, nihonga, I use pencils and watercolor to sketch and study nature and get inspiration. Whenever I sketch, I discover something in nature or things which are made by human beings, or the combination of them, and it inspires me to create my own art.
I believe I am a part of nature, and expressing my feeling is to express the cosmos. I try to be faithful to the feelings I have at that moment. My subject matter comes from my life. My subject matter or painting styles change from figures to landscapes, from still lifes to abstracts, depending on what I am interested in at that time, and reflect my feelings. All the subject of matters of my paintings are the symbols of my mind.
In spring of 2005, I gave a birth to my daughter. I sketch her almost everyday and she is still a mystery to me. She is the greatest of my creations. I know I eventually will create a new body of artwork based on my experience with my daughter.
www://fumiyo-y.com