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Thursday, July 16, 2009

Japanese doll


Japanese doll
Originally uploaded by adelie
Konichiwa, minnasan!

Here's a bit of dabbing to commemorate my summer in Japan. It turns out that with all the traveling and Japanese studying I've been doing, I haven't had much chance for more.

We saw this doll in a glass display case of a hotel lobby while waiting for our bus in Sakunami mountain village where we enjoyed some great Japanese outdoor onsen. There was the picturesque setting of a quiet brook spotted with playful fishes, flowing next to the bath which was well kept hidden by a crowd of tall pine trees. The doll was about the size of Barbie, carrying a blue cocktail umbrella, and dressed in a lovely silk kimono.

We don't have access to a proper scanner here, so I don't think the color is true to the painting 100%, but you get the idea.

Joanna

6 comments:

cignoh said...

this is awesome, joanna. sorry i didn't see this sooner, i sometimes forget to check itb, esp if i haven't posted in a while myself. i like the color palette you chose---the variation of color in the background and in her dress and how you see the color of the background being bounced back into her face. i like that there are subtle and delicate details on her dress, in her hair, and on the can (?) that she is sitting on, but done sparingly, not throughout the painting so that it remains simple and not too busy. what did you use to paint?

sukogirl said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
sukogirl said...

great drawing! agree with everything cignoh said. i especially like how u did the obi. one can get the idea of its fullness.

Joanna said...

Thanks all of you for the nice comments!

The doll is actually sitting on a tree stump, not a can:) but since Cindy pointed it out, it does in fact look like a tuna can, ha ha:)

FYI, I used a mix of gouach and acrylic for the paint.

cignoh said...

haha oops! i was wondering why she was sitting on a can---the tree makes more sense, and it does look like a tree too, now that you mention it... :)

how big is the painting?

Joanna said...

The painting is a bit bigger than a legal-sized paper, about 20cm x 30cm, I'd say.