In researching this painting and the great artist Hokusai, I came across a Wikipedia article that calls the style and genre he created in as ukiyo-e. This period and movement reflected the lives and interests of the "lowest classes of society", such as merchants, artists and ronin (samurai without masters) . Ukiyo means, roughly, "the floating world".
Since I enjoy a counter-culture lifestyle as an artist, with a pretty extensive background in holistic studies (whatever those are) this struck a chord. At times "the floating world" seems like a perfectly reasonable way to describe the predicament of being alive and conscious.
From Wikipedia:
"It was the novelist Asai Ryoi who in 1661 defined the movement in his book "Narrative of the Floating Life":
'..living only for the moment, savouring the moon, the snow, the cherries in flower and the leaves of the maple, singing songs, drinking sake and enjoying simply floating, indifferent to the prospect of impending poverty, optimistic and carefree, like a pumpkin dragged along by the current of the river.' "
There are many simple joys to be had with this philosophy... we are all, from the right perspective and after all, just floating in the river, regardless of whatever flimsy and weathered old comforts we try to clutch onto to make sense of the world. I believe that if happiness is ever to be found, the places worth looking are those simple things - like washing the dishes, sweeping the floor, or dancing with friends.
I hope you like the painting. I do wish I was able to work on it longer and make it better and better, but... the river is flowing on...
...may all of our work serve the highest good...
<3 RR
Get prints here!
