When in Intermediate school I drew a leopard lying on a tree branch and decided to become a graphic artist.

My father asked “So who will be paying for your artwork?”

So I got my BS in Geology at the University of Hawaii and spent my working life in Land Surveying.

I recall once telling a granddaughter to draw or paint what exists between your ears.

I guess in a way I follow my own advice because I tend to pay attention to detail, a necessity of surveying and mapping, in both text and pictures.

I received a gift of appreciation, Go Yen, and many years later a granddaughter drew a map with strange names. It was a meeting of minds, one old and other youthful. My story is a fictional history of seven strong Japanese women woven around the coin Go Yen.

Go Yen

Happy Xmas (War is Over) Written by John Lennon and Yoko Ono,

released in December,

1977 two years after the fall of Saigon and three years before his death,

the song dedicates “Happy Christmas Kyoto and Happy Christmas Julian”.

A forgotten song instantly grooved on and their choruses last line their gift.

“A very Merry Christmas

And a Happy New Year

Let’s hope it’s a good one

Without any fear.”

Long ago “No Fear” was embroidered red on a black corduroy surfer cap. The apparel maker had an acronym for fear. Hence, No False Evidence Appearing Real.

In June we, with dearest friends Jackie and Kathy, experienced “Beyond Van Gogh” My inspiration for 2021 blends a sunflower and an empty box to, forevermore, imprison our fears.

Depicted is a purge of hodge-podge universal fears like death, aging, hunger, losing health, trust, and love into the abyss of abandonment.

IMAGINE a year when all fearlessly thrive.

War is Over

My mother created Japanese occasion cards with dried small flowers and so I started to create my own cards and because I am a music fan my cards attempt the convert musical lyrics to drawings.

Pastel and pencil drawing of mount Ka’ Ala, Oahu, Hawaii during a sunset.

Mount Ka'Ala

Watercolor painting based upon the Hanafuda Moon card and depicts a person admiring a bright white circle not knowing it is a sign of imminent death.

Hanafuda Moon

A room decorated with angels that was inspired by Jackson Brown’s song “Too many Angels”

Too Many Angels

A floating leaf on rainwater captured in a boulder’s shallow depression. As the rainwater evaporated it left a watermark, so I created a sympathy card with a message we leave a watermark on those we met in our lifetime.

Sympathy

Still life pencil drawing of a Japanese Lucky Cat peering into a mirror on my drawing table.

I am so cool