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sister moon

Posted on July 28, 2007 @ 2:26 pm by massimo | Filed under: art,blog,books,fashion,illustration,japan,news,ukiyo-e,wordpress

kaizan zen aynaku illustration travel

“both deluded beings
and buddahs gaze at
the same moon”
This is by Kaizan  (1769 -1846)   a Zen monk, a master of calligraphy and ink painting…

Illustration Friday‘s topic is: moon

Here are three good links on last week topic: Three ravens press ; Wolfgang Kolar ; Franci .

neighbour

Posted on May 6, 2007 @ 9:34 am by massimo | Filed under: africa,blog,fashion,fun,illustration,japan,kenya,music,news,people,travel,ukiyo-e,wordpress

nairobi aynaku illustration travel

Behind the walls of his room in Al Mansura Hotel, in bustling downtown Nairobi, a man breathed into a saxophone. My room was next to his and I could hear the musician training himself all day long. At about 7 pm, invariably it was all over. The Al Mansura was a picturesque hang out, where some picturesque people, travellers or long term visitors, used to gather. Not surprisingly after a couple of days, I met my mysterious neighbour. He was a Japanese man who weared a silk kimono and barely spoke some words of English; but he spoke a fluent Swahili and I understood that he was living in Nairobi since long, and played saxophone with some local bands. That wasn’t an easy task for him, since he had to face black people’s astonishing ability in playing  music. All he could do was to exercise restlessly every day, according to his very Japanese attitude. And wait for the night, when he invariably left the room for his daily concert…
I still play on my turntable, from time to time, a couple of old records by “Banana hills Band” or “The Victoria Kings”, which where sold to me by local street vendors. Great music indeed, really pulsanting, with the rhythmic guitar and the bass playing a leading role: but no saxophone!

Illustration Friday’s topic is: neighbour

remember

Posted on April 28, 2007 @ 3:15 pm by massimo | Filed under: ancona,art,blog,fashion,fear,fun,illustration,japan,mediterranean,news,sailing,travel,ukiyo-e,wordpress

ukiyo-e aynaku travel illustration

Maybe I should put forward for this week’s topic my whole blog! Actually every Aynaku’s post relates to memory so I consider that my most recent submission should make no exception, and be one of Aynaku’s most typical. My very first time on board a sailing boat is firmly fixed in my mind: I was nine years old and the calling of wind and sea was already precise. I remember my excitement when the crew set sail and the boat left. It all happened under my parent’s benevolent and worried eyes. Waving their hands from the dock, they valued the possibility of an accidental jump into the water: still I couldn’t swim that well!
The second memory related to this illo, is my great fascination for Japanese ukiyo-e , a fascination dating back to my  1993 Japan trip. Really some memories can’t wait!

Illustration Friday’s topic is: remember

snap

Posted on March 31, 2007 @ 4:17 pm by massimo | Filed under: animals,blog,fun,illustration,ukiyo-e,wordpress

Dogs are one of the few animals that will actually swim just for the pure pleasure of it. They have also, like not many animals, a natural ability to deal with sea currents, a peculiarity that always amaze me. As a matter of fact some dogs are trained to …

messages

Posted on March 10, 2007 @ 11:11 am by massimo | Filed under: blog,books,fashion,fun,illustration,island,mediterranean,people,sailing,travel,ukiyo-e,wordpress

“I must down to the seas again to the vagrant gypsy life, To the gull’s way and the whale’s way where the wind’s like a whetted knife; And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover, And quiet sleep and a sweat dream when the long …

the floating world

Posted on January 27, 2007 @ 6:43 pm by massimo | Filed under: art,blog,books,fun,himalaya,illustration,india,japan,package tour,people,travel,ukiyo-e,wordpress

From1688 up to1868 the chonin, urban merchants and townspeople became the affluent bourgeoisie and the standard-bearer of a new Japanese popular culture. With plenty of money, they lived a life of luxury and created a lifestyle of their own, centred greatly …

monkey

Posted on January 21, 2007 @ 12:11 pm by massimo | Filed under: animals,blog,books,china,fashion,fun,illustration,mythology,news,people,ukiyo-e,wordpress

“Monkey King (or Sunwukong) was born from a stone. He wanted to be like the immortals and be free from death. He was extremely smart and capable, and learned all the magic tricks from a …

phoenix

Posted on December 31, 2006 @ 11:21 am by massimo | Filed under: animals,blog,china,fashion,illustration,mythology,news,ukiyo-e,wordpress

“There is also another sacred bird called the phoenix which I did not myself see except in painting, for in truth he comes to them very rarely, at intervals, as the people of Heliopolis say, of five hundred years; …

sailing ships…

Posted on November 18, 2006 @ 12:18 pm by massimo | Filed under: ancona,art,blog,fun,illustration,news,people,sailing,ukiyo-e,wordpress

My grandfather was born in 1898. In his younger days he watched more than once the sailing ships at anchor in our hometown harbour. In his spare time he enjoyed oil painting, wasn’t so bad a painter …

robofish

Posted on April 22, 2006 @ 6:01 pm by massimo | Filed under: animals,blog,books,fashion,fun,illustration,island,japan,news,people,travel,ukiyo-e,wordpress

My only trip to Japan dates back to 1994; I spent a month in Tokio and had to leave the country because of the high cost of life. Nevertheless my short stay I …

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