Nils C Johnson Fine Art

    The drawings above are large studies I did for a painting I am working on. It is a leek and some potatoes. I wanted to explain a little bit about my method for working out new ideas. Many artists find their ideas start in a sketchbook. Sometimes I am no different and of course have sketchbooks of my own. Still, the meat of my process is worked out in larger scale with charcoal. I find myself doing dozens of these large drawings in a single sitting at times, just working out small kinks and compositions. The reason I prefer working ideas out in this format over a more traditional sketchbook is that it provides a more fluid transition to painting for me. The paintings I work on are not miniatures. The size I work on requires more fluid movement. Often times these drawings can be a sort of practice for the movements necessary to complete a painting. I find working on large sheets in charcoal feels a lot closer to the movements of painting than sitting down scribbling in ...

      One thing that has always intrigued me were the small offerings and trinkets put in front of the family home's shrine (also known as a butsudan ). When a close family relative died, I noticed something strange. A small eggplant and cucumber with legs had been placed in front the family shrine. Curious about the reason, I learned all about them.       These are known as shouryouma , or spirit horses. When the dead cross over, of course they need to ride something. Legend says they ride cows and horses. The eggplant represents a fat cow, and and the cucumber represents a fast horse.       When the families come to pray for their dead ancestors on the yearly Obon holiday, their ancestors come back to the butsudan to greet them. So why a cow and a horse? Well, when the spirit is coming to visit the family, they want them to come swiftly to spend lots of time. So they ride a swift spirit horse (the sleek cucumber). When the h...