A lot of my digital work is influenced by Japanese art, both modern and traditional. I have always had an interest in the far eastern islands for as long as I can remember even to go as far as learning to speak, read and write the language. I am interested in visually fabricating the emotions, mystery, beauty and tradition of Japanese Geisha, Geiko and Maiko. My creative process begins with a drawing. Sketching allows me to visualize and imagine the completed work. My creations are heavily influenced by manga and especially by some of the artists of the Superflat movement. This can be seen in some of the more surreal geisha Images. I am also intrigued by the wood block artists of 17th Japan and pictures of the floating world (ukiyo-e ). I adore the evanescent, impermanent, fleeting beauty and simplicity of this style. I try to recreate the intensity and colours used in these pictures in my own artwork, using the medium of Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop with the help of Bezier curves to create my characters. The wonderful thing about using this method is that my artwork can be transferred to anything which has a printable surface.The conditions and methods of artistic creation have changed immensely through development of technology and continue to evolve. I feel my artistic method represents the modern day digital version of ukiyo-e without the complicated process of creating a wood block print.
