ritsukostudio
the art of ritsuko taneda
biography / artist’s statement
Ritsuko Taneda: Biography
I am Japanese. I was born in Yokohama, and grew up there. In my high school days I belonged to the oil painting club. I enjoyed painting in oil. After high school my interests moved on to other things, and I didn't paint again for many years. But my taste for oil painting didn't disappear.
I moved to the United States in 1988, and began painting in watercolor. In 2003 I encountered a very good teacher, in the person of William E. Elston, and began painting in oils again. I paint primarily the landscape, en plain air.
I enjoy the process of painting, and like watching the painting evolve along with my subject. After all, landscape painting is all about change.
Ritsuko Taneda: Artist’s Statement
The Japanese have a deep appreciation of the landscape, and celebrate its seasons. Much Japanese poetry comments upon the details of nature as a means to illuminate the subtleties of human feeling.
However, my most significant personal influence has been the painters of the European tradition, especially from the period of the Impressionists.
But I suppose that it cannot be helped that I am unconsciously influenced by my Japanese cultural heritage, and the idea that painting should convey a feeling of the whole of life.
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