Piggy-Cat Ride!

"Piggy-Cat Ride" - acrylic on aquabord, 16" x 20".  Ready to frame.  Available here and at Artfinder.

The studio has gone wild.  I no longer have creative control.  Wait - did I ever?  Probably not. :)

It started with some gorgeous big cats in Japanese art.  And then a book on Japanese art cats from the Morikami.  And a board that needed painting over, and words playing tricks in my head until "piggy-back ride" became "piggy-cat ride" and well now there you have it...shenanigans and malarkey.

But I also learned you can carve into aquabord (the fake writing is carved into the paint) and make quite a nicely textured effect.  So there are some redeeming qualities to this piece of whimsy.  And it makes me smile.

And now I am diving into The Hokusai Sketch-Books (James A. Michener) and I never want to emerge.

My dad was a huge fan of Hokusai, but of his well-known fancy pieces, elegant and supreme.  I don't think he knew about the sketch-books, which are wildly whimsical, animated and quirky, to my surprise and delight.

Hundred upon hundreds of sketches - grasses, trees, architecture, people, animals, mythological creatures and even a gunstock or two.

The copy I managed to buy is from 1962.  It was originally a graduation gift to someone (based on the inner inscription).  Oddly wonderful that 1962 is the year of my birth, so I figure this magical book was meant to drop into my hands eventually.

The book demands hours of study.  But more than that, it reminds us that sketch-books are an important part of artistry - a place where ideas can be explored and refined, practiced and perfected.  

It also tells a little secret...that even some of the greatest artist of all time might not have been in control of their studios.  Whimsical creatures and quirky characters seem to have a long history of dazzling and demanding attention, all the way back to the kaiba (oriental seahorse) and suisa (water rhinoceros) of Hokusai.

​Don't tell that to the pig and the cat, though.  Shhhhh.