Meditations on a Wave on the Day of the Venice Art Walk: May 22, 2011
by Gregg Chadwick Gregg Chadwick Study for Kamakura 14"x11" oil on linen 2011 " The most precious thing in life is its uncertainty." - Kenko, from Essays in Idleness (Tsurezuregusa), circa 1330 I am always honored to support the Venice Family Clinic with my art. My donation this year reflects my interests in Southern California and Japan with Study for Kamakura . Kamakura is both a beach town and a center of Japanese culture. In my painting, grey beach haze seems to mask the distance between east and west. Kamakura is home to the great statue of Buddha, the Daibutsu , pictured on countless postcards and books on Japan. Two years ago, I finally made my pilgimage to Kamakura and stood in awe beneath the great statue. A great wave washed away the building housing the Daibutsu in the 15th century. Since that time the statue has been seated in meditation beneath the sun and the stars. After surviving great tsunamis and political upheavals, the Daibutsu provides pers...