This painting isn’t leaving me alone

My current muse is this painting by Tsuguhara Foujita (1886-1968), a Japanese artist who applied Japanese ink techniques to Western-style paintings. There’s something that’s really captivating about it…the simple lines and muted color make me want to go draw and paint. I love the girl’s expression and the cat is cute and hilarious. My photo isn’t so good, but thought I’d share it anyway.

Here’s what The Art Book had to say about the painting:

“The nostalgic and enchanting scene of a young girl holding a cat was created when the artist was 71 years old. The outline is painted with a fine Japanese brush dripped in black paint. The image was then delicately filled in using only a small amount of color. This is especially noticeable in the girl’s pale flesh tones. Foujita was a master of drawing, and this painting demonstrates how he used simple lines to convey a sense of childlike innocence and purity. The Japanese tradition of art is mainly graphic, and Foujita continued this tradition by exploiting the use of ink, while absorbing Western artistic influences.” (p. 160, published by Phaidon)

Enjoy!