lisa solomon

Hello Sakura World! I’m @lisasolomon - author of @a_field_guide_to_color and #thecolormeditaiondeck - and all around color enthusiast. While I work in many many media - #watercolor definitely holds a very special place in my heart and studio. I’ll be showing you some of the ways I use Sakura supplies in my studio. Whenever I teach, I talk about how helpful it is to chart whatever media you are working with. For me it’s a no stress way to understand the materials I’m using - and often yields results that I also find visually gorgeous. One of my favorite charts is a simple color mixing exercise where you mix each color with every other color in your set to see a lovely overall range that you can get. I decided to create this chart with my brand new Koi 24 color half pan travel set. First I set up my chart with a 24x24 grid - you can make these any size you want, but I often do them on the smaller size so they fit on a single sheet or in a sketchbook. In this example i’m creating ¼” squares. I leave some room on the top and the left side to label each color. Then I use 2 brushes to create all my mixes. I fill one brush with the main color and use it to create a series of small pools of paint that I add the second color to. I attempt to make 50/50 blends - meaning i try to make each pool of paint the same size - this way my chart is at approximate the same saturation/intensity and in my mind I can start to guestimate how other percentage combinations might look. Remember as you work thru the chart each mix will fill up 2 squares as the names will cross twice. you can always just fill the chart in 1 direction to take up less time, but I always do a cross chart. No matter how many times I make these I’m always surprised and LOVE how it looks. I tend to simply use the order of colors as they appear in the box which usually means the chart will move from lighter and brighter to darker. I used a Pigma brush pen to label my chart. I keep a lot of charts in one oversized sketchbook so that I can refer to it if I need to. I hope you are inspired to make your own charts and I would love to see them if you do!

holy cow (why is it a cow ?? why not a 🦚??!! i say peacock because the colors match. natch). this is what 1332 knots in a two color diagonal ombre pattern that spans 2 walls looks like !! swipe to see the “key” that helped me navigate this piece as well as a walk up (like if i worked on this building what it might be like to come in the front door) as well as me WALKING OFF WITH MY OWN SANDWICH BOARD (this theft was sanctioned by my project manager 🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️). there are a lot of thanks in order here. first to @kristinfarr . she and i spoke like 5 years ago about doing something with @metaopenarts and helped it all come to fruition. and who insisted that i try something new and different (2 colors. 2 walls.) @joeyenos - you were like the cherry 🍒 on top of a sundae. so easy to work with. so generous. so fun. i loved figuring out the venn diagram of who we know and what we like in the art world. @risa_iwasaki_culbertson and @photobickett - the absolute dream team of installation help. nothing brings people together like repetitive labor and ladders. my parents including - @richoak1 - for the insane amount of gluing and all the extra kiddo pick ups. @cobrina for glue support too ! 🙌 and of course @waltermacielgallery who has always encouraged and supported me and my work and who exhibited the first version of #senninbari which allowed me to figure this whole process out ! and now i’m gonna nap and clean up my studio. (it’s a disaster) .. .. .. .. .. .. #metaopenarts #installationart #giantfrenchknots #fiberart #textileart #bayareaart #bayareaartists

current studio desk #amime

back in the studio full swing. working on finishing some pieces for my show “kiku no hana” which will be hung in the #artkiosk @cityofredwoodcity as part of an #installationart project for @rwcparks brought to you by @lance.m.fung thanks to @jae5012000 for curating ! and everyone who has helped out including the san mateo county historical association who let me sift thru some archival photos of local chrysanthemum/flower farmers. show will be installed at the end of july and visible 24/7 for a few months ! 😉 (if you are wondering this is a mon/crest of #chrysanthemum flowers embroidered with a #sashiko method in gold thread over the #executiveorder9066 map of san mateo county alerting japanese residents to their internment)

i’ve been posting things i brought back from #japan in stories but this one might need its own post grabbed at a flea market for about $3 - this old book has amazing illustrations and colored prints. it’s so old that my mom says the style of language is almost incomprehensible for modern day japanese people to read. its hand bound with string and partially worm eaten but i find it so beautiful. some of the plates are frame worthy and it’s definitely collage material.

@pigment_tokyo is one of my favorite places on earth. if i could i would live with all the pigments and brushes and papers and mix a new paint every day. it would be a dream to teach a class there. last time i got some gold and bright pink and the very special #gofunshirayuki - an exclusive white. this time i got an indigo a mustard yellow and a mossy off green. heaven. #tokyo #japan #artsupplies #pigmenttoyko #lsjapan2024

#yanaka is an old neighborhood in #ginza . i had never been before but it was on kiddo’s list. i’m really glad we went. it’s a cute district known for its love of cats. it’s also famous for sweets. we stopped and had amazing fresh #dango 🍡 and a shave ice that was one of the best we’ve ever had. the street has some very sweet stores including one that specializes in baskets (can we talk for a minute ute about how amazing japan’s themed stores are. you can go to one for bakeware. one for ceramics. one for shrines. one for brushes (from tooth to brooms). i love the extreme dedication to singularity. it’s lovely. ) also spied a vintage kimono spot (resisted 500¥ geta and bags). and plenty of cat themed stores. almost at the end of my #tokyo posts. i’ll be catching up in stories w. just some random observations and images of things that came home with me (which is a lot). #lsjapan2024

((i’m home but have a few more #japan things to post)) @shirohige_puff is a must do spot if you love #totoro and #creampuffs they are cute and delicious and did i say cute ? we got there right at opening to a short line. i know instagram has made this spot cuckoo so if you don’t want to wait and sit you can do takeout without a line but … i recommend sitting cause climbing the stairs alone is so fun also went to the #oiracetrackfleamarket which was a delight. a combo of antiques, cheap clothes and of course the regular “junk” … there were also great food trucks and amazing deals (a kimono for 500 ¥) japan wouldn’t be complete w. out a quick jaunt to harajuku and @kiddyland_co.jp where even the bathrooms are themed and cute also how is it that the busses in japan are also too darn cute #tokyo #lsjapan2024

@teamlab planets is pretty great. although VERY crowded with tourists. kiddo and mom did it a couple years ago when japan was just opening back up from covid and said it was much emptier. sigh. yayoi kusama meets turrell meets jennifer stienkemp… definitely a sensory experience. loved wading thru the water with koi projections. then off to @itoya_official which is a small slice of heaven. and a giant toy store also in #ginza 🌈 (and soft cream made with milk from the #iwate region where my mom is from. there’s a specialty market that has items from that prefecture. 😉 #tokyo #japan #lsjapan2024

first stop @gotokuji_setagaya_tokyo for the now famous cat temple. we got there early enough so there wasn’t crazy tourist crowds yet. but clearly it’s become a destination spot. if you like marineko it’s perfect. plus there’s a lot of greenery and beautiful old cemetery also went to #ameyoko market in #ueno because i needed a suitcase (mine broke on the way here.) got a beautiful lavender one for under $50 and it’s always fun to walk around the stalls. touristy, loud, fish, fruit and tea (my favorite tea comes from a stall here but they only sell it in winter) AND we found hokkaido soft cream 😂 #tokyo #japan #lsjapan2024

#otaru is an old port town still in use today. they built a breakwater to keep the waves smaller and some canals to help with offloading ships. they have kept part of the canals to this day - now as a tourist spot - and have converted some of the warehouses into restaurants shop it was our first full sunny day and was beautiful. we also went to an old building - kihinkan - that happened to be peony heaven. felt so lucky. the whole garden was a bloom and gorgeous. otaru is also known for its glass works. and we spotted a guy pretending to be a bush and scaring tourists. and soft cream (duh) matcha and vanilla. #hokkaido #japan #lsjapan2024

noboribetsu is home to jingokudani aka the valley of hell - a huge sulfur natural onsen. (the snow monkeys come here in winter to warm up). there are some hiking trails. beautiful trees - small shrines and statues. it’s stinky but beautiful. the town is also very cute. and guarded by demons who wield clubs. of course it being japan they even make demons look cute 👺👹 #lsjapan2024