I participated in the annual Small Cures art show again which took place last month in Toronto, and decided to submit three pieces! Their format of using only tiny 6 x 6” canvases, made me struggle to figure out what to paint, again. The complexity of the piece should be rather simple because of the size, I thought. Should I draw a simple object? Some fun interesting typography? Or abstract? It had to be not just something simple, but also humorous and relatable. With last year’s Small Cures show, I went with doing something simple and humorous. I painted a cute vinyl record character chilling on a staircase looking back at the viewer seductively. That’s it. Super fun. I also thought about doing a cassette and a cd of course…but just wasn’t in the mood at this time. Just wanted to paint something refreshing for a change.
One day I came across a silly youtube granny rap video called ‘Oba Funk Osaka’ describing what a ‘Osaka Obachan’ is. And then I remembered seeing them everywhere from my Osaka trips, and started sketching out my version of her. Then I realized I had forgotten that there are so many types of characters in Japanese society that are so distinctly Japanese and visually interesting. ‘That’s it!’ I thought. Soon after I sketched out the ‘salaryman’ and then the ‘construction worker’.
Halftime Onigiri: This salaryman I wanted to be the overworking underpaid 50 something year old fellow taking a 5 minute lunch break during the day with his modest lunch-in-hand: an onigiri. He then would be sitting back on one of those kiddie jungle gym springy thingies (what do they call those?), possibly fantasizing about being young again. Or he’s fantasizing about new love? Hmmm? Either way the flat background emphasizes that he’s in a place outside of reality.
Ichigo Milk: The young construction worker wears a ‘safety first’ helmet, typical of a Japanese construction worker. The uniform is called a ‘nikka pokka’ and the boots are ‘tabi boots’ (I made them rollerskates!). He also has his bling rings, aviator glasses, and most important of all: his strawberry milk (ichigo milk). All this retro, gets him in his zone.
Osaka Obachan: She’s the polar opposite to the Salaryman. She’s enjoying every bit of her life, and showing age ain’t nothing but a numbaa. She wears her love of leopard print, Adidas, Asics, red lipstick and shades. Ok I added the mixed sport brands. Oh and the pogo stick. Hey gotta have fun with it right? I like the juxtaposition of the old with young items, and young with the old items. So yep i guess looking at the three: it’s all about age perspective. Also maybe about people dealing with stress lol.
Anyhow, had so much fun on the night of the event. Huge turnout that night, with a lot more artists this year exhibiting. They were even serving Beau’s beer this year! Thank you again to the organizers for having me, the people that bought the works, and all the people that came out!
Lastly, I really wanted to stay with these, so I ordered some prints for home! If you’re interested hit the button below. :)
