Evolving as an artist, new works, new exhibition

This year marks the 10th anniversary of my first exhibition which took place at the Setagaya Museum in 2004. In 2007, I held my first solo show, and though I sold most of my pieces, I wasn't quite happy with my level. I continued to learn, grow, and evolve as an artist, but it always felt like something was missing.

Since I've moved to Kumamoto, so many things have changed! I've found the right tools and materials, I'm more confident in line and layout, I feel like I've finally found my direction.

How did I go from having very little confidence to being consistently happy with my work? Here’s a list of things that helped me get where I am today and which will help me become the artist I want to be in the future:

Studying the masters - by copying and not just looking, you will learn lots of new things. I do this with a friend and we discuss what we’ve learned.
No longer drawing what I think others will like - you will be more honest to yourself about what really excites you
Finding the right tools - I really like working with my current pens and paper. Drawing has become fun again - something I want to do every day. I switch back to digital for design, but now for drawing I’m 100% analog.
Drawing every day - by starting a daily sketch Facebook group and using a small moleskine calendar book I began to draw daily whether I wanted to or not. I almost never used pencil, just went straight in with pen, and as a result I became more confident in my lines and shading.
Learning when to take and ignore criticism - I love it when people pick apart my work even though it may hurt my ego. I listen to the points that were made and then objectively assess whether each point has merit. If it does, I apply the advice. If you wait a day or so, your pride will have healed somewhat and it gets a little easier.

Now that I’ve talked the talk, let me show you my most recent work. My latest three pieces are part of my “Noir" series showcasing three stars from three different decades. Recently-passed Lauren Bacall from The Big Sleep （三つ数えろ）(1946), a film noir classic; Audrey Hepburn looks great in ‘noir’ from Funny Face(パリの恋人) (1957); and Gregory Peck in pseudo-noir thriller Mirage （蜃気楼）(1965).

Originals are B5, frames are B4

They will be on display at the 昭和でSHOW exhibition at Gallery Kopis and のらくら館のある森下文化センター in Kiyosumi-Shirakawa. These pieces have been framed and double-matted and are for sale separately or as a set. If you would like to purchase one or all of these pieces, please contact me at patokon.com@gmail.com. The price for each is ¥20,000 or ¥55,000 for the set.

Please stop by the gallery and look at the pieces and my newest portfolio. I wish I could be there in person as it looks to be a pretty great show.

Starry-eyed heroes of Akira 'Leiji' Matsumoto

Hello, friends and manga-philes. You probably know that my interest in Japan was originally fueled by a combined interest in Japanese animation and martial arts. My interests expanded somewhat over the years, but one big change happened about the age of 15 when I bought my first Japanese collected comic. From that moment on, I became more interested in comics than animation and eventually after moving to Japan, I started to collect the comics of Mr. Leiji Matsumoto . At first, I was put off by the heavy-lined art and blocky characters, but the more I got into the stories, the less I cared about the style. Eventually, though, I started to appreciate the artistry much in the same way it took me a while to warm to Jack Kirby's art. Like most Leiji fans, I was heavy into Space Cruiser Yamato , Captain Harlock , Queen Emeraldas , and finally, Galaxy Express 999 . These comics were created in the 70's and are representative of Matsumoto's style of that time. After

Hellchik

There's just something about a woman in red... It took me some time to complete today's illo. I went through an episode of the BBC "The Office", an ep. of "Freedom" (animated show by the creator of Akira), and an ep and a half of Star Trek: DS9. For a daily pic diary, I'm taking just way too much time! But, I can't help it! It's too much fun!!

Top 10 Sci-fi Westerns Part 2

Continuing the Top 10 Sci-fi Westerns list... 5. Outland (movie) - Sean Connery must weigh his thankless job against family (good-looking wife and son who is too dorky-looking to be believable as from Connery's hallowed loins) and survival. Of course he chooses the option where he must face down a team of assassins at high-noon on a mining station on Io, one of Jupiter's moons). No cowboy hats or six-shooters, but it is very much a wild west type of scenario where the new Sheriff must deal with the land baron's evil henchmen and the townsfolk and deputies won't lift a finger to help, and there's space heroin and exploding heads... Okay that last part doesn't happen so much. I still enjoy seeing this one every once in a while. Connery is always awesome and best slomo head explosions ever (other contenders - The Fly II and Scanners )!! 4. The Wild, Wild West (television NOT the movie!) - When I was quite the youngun' I would flip the channel

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