Kamakura

My mother's host mother came to visit us for a few days and we did a lot of sightseeing. Living in Yokohama for quite a few years, I realised that I still have lots of places that I haven't been in my area. Having a visitor gave us a chance to discover nice local places.



北鎌倉の東慶寺の歴代尼僧墓所。
The place looked magical with shining moss.



鎌倉でよく見かける鳥といえば……ガビチョウ！　たまにはこういうやつも描いてあげなくては。
This introduced species, Hwamei, has been wide spread in Kamakura area.



Since our house is so tiny, we decided to stay for two nights at Kamakura Guest house. All the guests got together at the irori fireside in the evening, which still had fire for the last time in this season. The guests were from all over the world, France, Netherlands, Australia, China and Korea... It was such a fun to talk with them! I even met an illustrator, Juliette Huygen, who creates very interesting collage works with beautiful pen lines! I love this kind of international place!



A kingfisher perched right on top of a cherry branch! A perfect painting opportunity!



We had nice tea break under the red umbrellas in Enoshima island and I had the second ice cream during this trip!

House Viewing

There is an apartment complex now leasing. It's been very noisy because many couples come for house viewing, coming in and coming out all day long.



"Look at the view from this room! Isn't it lovely?"
"Oh, yes! This is perfect for us. Let me come in and see the inside."



"I don't feel secure on this top floor. It is too close from the path above."



"I don't prefer the first floor either... is there any room on the second floor still available?"



"Are you happy with our new home, my dear?"

息継ぎ

I'd been overwhelmed with works for the last few weeks but last Wednesday, I finally got a chance to go out of the house with my sketchbook. It was already spring! The sun was shining!



I started drawing this Japanese apricot in blossom, hoping to capture some Japanese white-eyes or even brown-eared bulbuls to come for nectar. Nothing came but an oriental turtle dove walking on the ground.



梅にメジロ、梅にヒヨドリでもよいからと思い、近所の梅園で粘ってみたが何も来ない。何気なく通り過ぎるときには、よくメジロを見かけるのに。ちょっと風が強かったせいなのか。もしかしたら鳥は、もう少しつぼみ段階の花にしか来ないのかもしれない。
それでも、今年初めてのウグイスのさえずりを聞き、満足だった。



毎月、第三水曜日の夜にあるYoung探鳥会の交流会にも、仕事合間のタイミングで顔を出せた。（勉強した内容ではなく、落書きをアップ……）



A teal couple at the river near my house.



材料の買い出しを口実に自転車で川沿いを走り、少しだけ休憩と称してコガモを描く。たまには息継ぎも必要だ。

Diamond Fuji...almost!

Every year, it happens to be around the 11th of March when the sun sets almost on top of Mt. Fuji in my area, so my mother discovered. Having a bright evening, we went out to see the "Diamond Fuji."




It set not exactly on top but on the left side of the mountain and since it was a bit hazy, the diamond was shining not as sharp as we had expected. But even so, the view was dramatic and it was good to be out of the house. I think I am allowed to go for a walk for half an hour even if I am facing tight deadlines, no?

第1回フィールドスケッチ会

On Saturday, my friend and I organised a field sketching event at the Shinobazu pond in Ueno, Tokyo, where lots of ducks and black-headed gulls are wintering. When we planned this event, we were just hoping to have just a few participants. And there turned out as many as ten people, both amateurs and professional artists! It was a mild sunny day, very pleasant to sketch outside. I have to say that it was rather a successful day! You can find some photos and artworks we created on that day on our Field Sketchbook site.



不忍池で第1回フィールドスケッチ会を開いた。スケッチにはその人の鳥の見方が表れておもしろい。ポートレート画のように横顔を丁寧に観察している人、特徴的な形やポーズをしっかり捉えている人、ラフな線で動きを追っている人、風景の中に鳥を見ている人、影に注目する人。「スケッチするとなると、やっぱりよく観察することになりますね」という感想がうれしかった。野外で鳥をまともにスケッチするのは初めてという方も少なからずいたようだが、楽しんで、またお互いにいろいろな刺激にもなったようで、会の主催者としてはひと安心。当日の様子と成果はこちらにアップされています。



The gull was standing there against the light. I made this drawing by smudging the pencil with tissue paper and "drawing" with rubber, inspired by this Richard Thewlis's purple heron sketch. I really like this technique and should explore it further!



When I came here last time in January, almost all the gulls were the black-headed gulls. But this time, we had some black-tailed gulls, which had already come back for breeding. It was very interesting to see them fighting over a pole stuck in the pond for a place to stand on! Being larger, black-tailed were much stronger than black-headed.



Northern Pintail（オナガガモ）



まだつぼみのカンヒザクラとドバト。

February report

2日、3日少ないだけだけれど、やっぱり2月は短く感じる。どうして31日まである月がたくさんあるのに、2月だけ2日も少ないのだろうと、つい気になって調べたら、アウグストゥスが自分の月（8月）をどうしても長くしたかったというわがままかららしい！
February had passed without me thinking of anything but meeting deadlines and joining some events. So here are some updates about what I had been doing.

I gave a talk about British nature reserves and British birdwatchers at Gyotoku Bird Observatory. I was so glad to have 20 or so very enthusiastic audience! Below are some of the slides I made for the talk.



行徳の公開講座と新宿御苑展に足を運んでくださったみなさま、本当にどうもありがとうございました。

I learned a lot from making this presentation since I had to research a lot and make sure so many things. I found a fascinating radio program about how Lakenheath Fen reserve was created, some very interesting old photographs of Wicken Fen, a good explanation on the difference between a ditch and a dike just to mention a few.
I also learned from the questions and comments from the audience. Can't wait to go back and find out the answers, which I wasn't sure what to say!



新宿御苑展に出した絵「タゲリ舞い」（左）と「富士・鷹・わらボッチ」（右)
会場でお会いし損ねてしまったみなさま、申し訳なかったです！



Yes, this is a wooden engraving, my very first proper trial using burins! I think I got to know a lot about making marks and patterns from this work.
野鳥の会80周年記念のTシャツデザインコンテストに応募して佳作をいただきました。機会あって野鳥の会のオフィスにお邪魔したら、賞状までいただいてしまいました。



野鳥の会80周年なら特定の鳥ではなくてたくさんの身近な鳥がいいなと思い、限定4色という指定のなかで、なるべく自然に描ける鳥をデザインしてみました。
ちなみにTシャツとなる最優秀賞はルリカケスの絵でした。
I entered the T-shirt design competition to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the Japan Wild Bird Society. Mine got an honorable mention and when I visited their office, they even gave me the certificate! You can find the awarded artworks here.