Blur The Border, Not.

"After The Bath, May 2020, NYC"
Alla Prima 2 days painting, oil on linen, 12 x 9"

Blur The Border, Not.
A title of my new painting which I haven't started to paint yet, but I know what it will look like very clearly. I cannot wait to share with you once again when it has a shape to see.

If you know me, It is unusual that I share a title or any idea first before the piece existing, right? I felt it is fine to do so now because world is in unusual state now.

It has reflected meaning about the situation we are living now. Can you read what it mean?

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Varnishing the painting "After The Bath"

The window painting (I do not have image of this piece in this blog) which I am working on right now clearly reflects the whole feeling around the pandemic around the world right now, especially of New York City's as that is where I am experiencing this. You can see the colors are more vivid, it has much invisible signs and symbols, and the strong lighting inside...

It is also clear from reaction of people I have been sharing the progress too that it is different from my usual work that is usually composed with more muted color and less intense in terms of the light.

I started to work on the window painting about when coronavirus started to spread in NYC, but I had the basic idea for while, maybe from sometime last year.

The window is titled "Rose from The Rosebush" and I started in quarantine in NYC, and most important parts were done during during the quarantine period.

Once when it is finally done, I will share you the image which I am excited to.
(Hopefully sometime very soon.)

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Who's carrot?

A few days ago when we had heavy rain and thunders though night, I went out to my backyard garden to check out my Japanese carrot I was growing there. I looked thoughly the area my carrot was growing healthy last time I saw, but I could only find flat brown ground on that spot, as if nothing was there, while other part of garden is filled with wild weeds. I remember someone pictures of porcupine that my friend posted a few days agow, show in my neighbor.

Do squirrels eat carrot?
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Regeneration, 2020, Ink and watercolor on paper, 8 x 8"

Do you believe in reincarnation?

I was think about this while I was walking outside under the strong sun light. (that almost made me feel the summer.) As I always wonder about many topics whenever I am alone.

I do not believe reincarnation in individual scales, and I do not think human will reborn as another human. Because if so, cherry blossom tree will reborn as some type of cherry blossom tree, orange cat will reborn as some kind of cat, whale will reborn as some kind of whale, a dinosaur will reborn as some kind of dinosaur...., do you see what I mean?

but I do believe reincarnation as whole energy scale, as everything is one big power. Sum quantity of everything existing is always equal to whole energy that this world has, it can be said to now, the past, and in the future, and the energy is always in the same quantity, or never lesser than before at least. So in that sense I do believe reincarnation.
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"A Black Mask In A Night Uber"Work in Progress alla prima 2 days self-portrait

New York City is finally reopening from May 8th, and I want to leave a small note of suggestion.
If you are thinking to donate to any organization right now, I recommend to do so to Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Not just a few, but there are many and various charities related to this pandemic and protest that you can donate or give hand including Feeding America and Artist Relief and Housing Works  and so on. You can also visit this useful website to learn so many ways you can support each other right now, I also really enjoyed reading it: https://gothamist.com/news/how-to-help-guide-covid-19-nyc

All of them (and many more I didn't list) are great, all place above are where I or my friends actually donated in this past weeks. If you want to know where need help the most right now, it is important for you to research where might be having less funding because there are some place popular or trendy for donating, and others are less recognized or temporarily forgotten. If I personally recommend one place to donate now, it is the Suicide Prevention Lifeline.

This is always important that we make sure you are donating directly to the organization through their official website. (Make sure to double check the URL)

There are also many petitions that you can take a look and sign if you support the content.

Everything we do makes our city, everything we just think or wish don't make our city, but our imagination will do.
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"A Black Mask In A Night Uber" Alla Prima (wet on wet) self-portrait progress

It feels exciting that the city is reopening after this long time close down.

It is extremely sad to have such many people’s  lives being lost for the virus, but at some level, I am extremely relieved that the reason why people are dying this time was not the third war, which somewhat has been bothering in my mind for while.

In stead of people killing each other for another World scale war, the nature did it, and we are somewhat united by this pandemic. People killing people is the most unacceptable act yet one of the most human-like act next to commit suicide and also making art.

Not government level, but the people's levels, we were united across the nations because of this virus, instead of fighting each other for another war which is earth’s  ending (as “our land”).

It is always nature that unites humans with its great and unavoidable power.

We perhaps do not want to avoid it either even if we could try forcefully, if that is in the circle of energy that must be happening. We are the one of them making such flow of energy.

Some says nature is trying to extinct us, I think nature is telling us something different, (well that is, if we believe that they are there to tell us something) and we are here.

I want to live with straight forward communications with people. Without it, it is sad. It is like same for communicating with dead people even if we are still alive.

I like to live surrounded by people who we can relate to each other. New York City has been wonderful place for me that offers such relationship with many different people. So I would say, and I believe that place you are at right now matter, for every part of your life.

I am grateful to go though this time in NYC as a part of this big condensed community.

Yesterday I was little afraid of idea that city is reopening soon and I am also going back to work outside from my home. It is because it has been long like just about three months, after city completely closed, and we were in secure home for that time.

But today I am feeling under strong sunlight, that so much energy and excitement from within myself. I cannot wait to whatever comes to us now.


Happy mid-May everyone.

-Natsumi

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