Kevin’s Painting Blog

I looked all over the web and couldn’t find this info. For future reference sake, here are some standard metric canvas sizes found here in Japan. I believe it’s the same for Europe as well as I recently attempted to copy a Renoir and what do you know, the original was “exactly” F15 measurements! The more I am forced to deal with metric, the more I am liking it I must say!

Standard Canvas Sizes (unit=millimeters)

Although I started this during the summer, I just finished this painting on Christmas day. Not that it took me one half of a year’s worth of work, I think I may have put about 8 or 10 hours into it total. It consisted of three, one to two hour sittings with the model, plus about 3-5 or so hours in the studio.  My model here is a Japanese friend who has his own baseball training business.  The “R” on the shirt and cap stands for major league baseball  hitter “Reggie Smith”, who my friend trained with in the USA and whose training system he uses.

“The Trainer” - F8 Oil on Canvas

(Large version here)

This is my third New Year’s in Japan, and the third time I’ve spent it at my favorite pub.

 Year by year, new faces appear while other’s do not for one reason or another. We brought in the new year this time with some of the most excellent white wine I’ve ever had - from 1981. Can’t remember what it’s called but it was expensive.

Around 3 am we walked in the cold to the local shrine and feasted on takoyaki. Great time.

From 2005

From 2004

My first blog post, wow. I really should have been doing this on a more regular basis, oh well. The first four years in Japan have been rather hectic. For starters, I had to transition my main means of making a living from the USA to here. There have been things, people, and issues that have been somewhat of a distraction. A good friend died, as did my father-in-law. This summer I took up surfing again, something I hadn’t done since my early 30’s and got addicted.  I have also spent the last year getting my body back into shape and have no regrets about that! I started taking aikido. What can I say, when it comes to painting I go in cycles. At least I always come back to it.  Now that I’m “back”, it’s time to get productive! I usually pump out a bunch of stuff when I’m in the cycle so hopefully I’ll have some things to post here.

Tonight, however, will be a night of drinking absinthe and then heading to the shrine with my friends to welcome in the new year.