Hanga Treasure Chest: Print #15


Canadian Sunset

(from photo)

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I said last time that there would be more images by non-Japanese designers in this series, and here we are already! And who do you think this one is by?

Although my printmaking schedule this year is extremely tight, I did manage to 'escape' from my workbenches for a week in July; I flew over to Vancouver, Canada for a short family get-together, partly instigated by my parents' 55th anniversary. Not everybody could get there (oldest daughter Himi is working on a cruise ship in the Caribbean), and nothing much happened, but we did have a most relaxing week, taking walks, doing crossword puzzles together, and admiring the new shoji window screens my father has built in his apartment.

Everywhere I went during the week, I kept my digital camera always with me; I knew that the moment I returned home I would have to start carving the next print, so during all our walks I kept a lookout for a scene that might make an interesting print. As it turned out, I returned to Japan empty-handed; I just hadn't come across anything that I felt would be suitable.

Waiting in my email inbox at home though, was a message from my sister letting me know about a web camera which showed the view from an apartment block very close to her home in Vancouver. Using my computer, I was able to see the live image from the camera, and as I watched it change minute by minute, realized that a very nice evening scene was rapidly approaching.

Just a few moments after the sun went down behind the distant mountains, I copied the camera image, so that I could study and trace it, and the next morning I started the job of turning it into a woodblock print.

So thanks to the magic of the internet, what you see in this print is sunset at English Bay, Vancouver, on July 20th this year, as watched 'live' by me from my vantage point here in Tokyo more than 6,000 kilometres away!

David

Monday, August 22, 2005