Mark Golden on Paint

The first week of our lecture tour in Japan is almost over. We’ve enjoyed lectures in Kyoto at Kyoto Seika University and Seian University; in Nagoya at Aichi Prefecture University and in Osaka at the Osaka University of Arts. I’ve been joined in this tour with artist and friend Phil Garrett, from Greenville, South Carolina. The students and faculty have been such a great audience as we try to get through a lecture and demonstration that usually takes us a good 2 ½ hours with an English speaking audience. Thank goodness we are sharing materials in the visual arts. So much of what we need to do is just to show the students the samples and they immediately understand what these things can do.

I have gotten much better at charades with the students, as this is much more profound than the two dozen or so words that I know. And most of those words are for my own safety, such as “Sorry, thanks, don’t understand and where’s the bathroom. You would think after 10 years of these lectures I’d have picked up more vocabulary. Actually most students understand quite a bit of English, yet they are quite reticent to use it.

The tour is hosted by our friends at Turner Color Company, of Osaka, well known for their amazing Acrylic Gouache colors. It takes a great deal of work and staff to make these events work. It is wonderfully rewarding to have the opportunity to share what we do with the artists and students here. Now off to Tokyo!