‘Gone’ Charcoals and watercolour on Arches paper. 13″ X 13″
In loneliness
there is also some joy –
autumn darkens.
Buson (1776)
Over the past weeks, as a result of the exhibition TREE at Beaux Arts in London, I have been asked several times if there is a ‘Japanese influence’ to my work.
Sadly, I have never visited Japan but I own to a long-term interest in Buddhism and, more recently, the profound influence of two small books: In Praise of Shadows by Junichiro Tanizaki, and A Tractate on Japanese Aesthetics by Donald Richie. In the latter, amongst many other elegant and subtle ideas, Richie discusses the term aware. Aware emphasises the wistful melancholy of the sympathetic response. It applies to that which moves one to an awareness of the ephemeral beauty of a world in which change is the only constant. The element of aware may move one to melancholy, awe, or quiet acceptance. Often such feelings run too deep for words
I hope that recent drawings have held this in mind.
© Sarah Gillespie 2013
