Atelier Talk: December "Hair Cut, Dreams, Year-end Cleaning, New Year's Resolutions..., and Painting is in Progress"
 |
| Having a difficult time with this two-paneled progress work in my studio. Can I see you complete before the new year? I hope so. |
Thank you so much for reading my blog this year. I really appreciate you being here with me. Unless something spontaneous happens, this will be my last blog for 2025. There are fewer random images on this blog because I can't share my painting is still in progress.
12.3.25 —I have been thinking, since I got my new planner for next year in late November, when I should start using my new 2026 planner as it starts in December 2025, but I feel I want to finish this year's planner.
12.10.25 — Good news came, my painting "Presence" is included in Hollis Taggard Downtown's Holiday exhibition. It's nice.
 |
| A screenshot of Hollis Taggart Gallery website about the group exhibition |
12.11.25 in the morning — Again on an extra windy day, picking up my paintings from Hollis Taggart Downtown Gallery. Then work in the studio until evening. Also I made the last art supply order for the year.
”With vibrant paintings, hanging sets of pendants and new floor lamps, Pardo builds upon his interest in fusing machine and hand-made media to create works that are paradoxically bound to conditions of time, memory, and space.[...]"-Petzel Gallery
12.14.25 at night or12.15.25 in the early morning — I gave myself a haircut. (I still have long hair.)
Also it was the first real snow day in New York City. Waking uo in the while world.
12.15.25 — As of now, I'm really liking my new and my first ear plugs. Kind of solved my question of why many interesting/genius people around me utilize ear plugs. An unexpected flowers were delivered to my art studio.
At night — I had a nice dinner and said farewell to a Japanese friend who gave me Japanese life supplies. Saying bye to someone I like always makes me sad and a little "homesick", but I always try to focus on the fact that I met someone new who I like. Anyhow, he gave me Japanese life supplies, and now I feel I can survive 2025.
12.16.25 — In a conversation from the last night, I was asked and I happened to have the opportunity to shared a little bit about my past and family and that made me see a strange dream. I get weired homesick everytime when someone make me talk about Japan or when I hear someone going back or visiting Japan.
12.17.25 — Getting some free christmas tree twigs from a christmas tree shop in Greenpoint for my bunny. Drying in my studio. Are they fir? or pine?
12.18.25 — I finished my reading for this month (a book about Kimono instead of Ukiyoe which I initially planned to read). Painting rest of the day
12.19.25 — In the morning, thinking about whether I should trim my hair (again) much shorter. A postcard arrived from Shanghai from my aunt and cousin, who brought her there for her 70-year birthday. Starting tonight, I will be working on my 年末の大掃除 (year-end cleaning). It's a little early but in this way I can paint later on. I will do both my home and studio little by little. Painting continues to have progress.
.jpg) |
| A Shanghai postcard from my relatives |
12.22.25 — My mood ring keeps moving between reddish purple, strange brown, green, and night sky blue. All colors seems between the specific mood. I heard sad news from my mother that our VHS player (my family home) is finally broken, and we will no longer have a VHS player in our new video player. Still a painting is in progress.
12.23.25 — A rainy day in NYC, ... waking up from a bad dream. Someone I love(in my dream) is coming to tell me he will spend the New Year's Eve with someone else. There was another bad dream I had seen before that dream which I had forgotten by the time I woke up. He could just be quiet and leave me alone instead of coming all the way to tell me this, but I can't complain to anyone as it was an event in my dream.
But on the other note, my real life started nicely with the news that someone was interested in learning more about my paintings. A progress painting continues to be progress.
12.25.25 — Working in the studio all day today.
"Work when everyone else is resting." It is one of the ideas I adopted from a father (whom I didn't have an opportunity to meet when he was alive) of somebody I used to be close to.
12.25.25 — Winter Storm Warning in New York City tonight. Delivered my 4 paneled painting back to the gallery in the morning.
At night — joining the year-end gathering at GOCA Gallery. The snow continues to fall steadily past midnight. Having green tea, my friend poured it for me at the gallery at 11:11pm. And back at the studio, I made a cup of tropical passion fruit tea to even the snow and went back to painting.
---
 |
| My vacation watch is back on my wrist |
Since December began, I have been thinking about and looking forward to starting using my new planner for 2026. It has current December, but since I do want to finish my current planner, I will probably wait for January 2026.
When do you normlly start using your new planner?
I was going to read a book about Ukiyoe from Ronin Gallery I recently aquired, but instead, I decided to work on a book about Kimono. It more closely relates to the details of subjects I want to paint next year, or as soon as my progress paintings are complete. This comes in two parts; re-learning about the kimono and actually wearing it in daily life. I want to be familiar with wearing kimono as daily clothing. I believe that will help me when I paint them in my work.
今年もあと数日、季節のモチーフや季語を改めて学ぼうと思う。この日本独自の季節を楽しむ感覚を来年の作品に反映させていきたい。日々周りから新しい良いもの、良いと感じるものを吸収して、消化して、作品に反映させていきたい。何を表現していても『今を生きる、今生きていること』ということが作品の底辺にあるように、つい毎日忙しく同じように過ごしてしまいがちになるけれど、それを忘れないように。私たちは今生きている、生きるしかないし、生きていくしかないし、生きていかなくてはいけない。私もあなたも。今ここに私たちがいることは自身にとっても周りの人にとっても素晴らしいことで、奇跡に近い素晴らしいことだということ。そしてそれは今ここに確かに在る、ということだけしかわからないもの。現実でも絵の中でも、たとえ夢の中でも、今ある時間や繋がりや新しい縁を最大限に謳歌できる一人の人間でありたい。
