Speed of Life

Gregg Chadwick Beauty and Sadness ( 美しさと哀しみと) Utsukushisa to Kanashimi to 57"x103" oil and collage on Japanese screen 2010 Each year the city of Santa Monica sponsors an Art Walk at the Santa Monica Airport. Often the sound of takeoffs and landings from the tarmac mask the quieter sounds of chisel on stone and brush on canvas in the old hangars lining the historic airfield. A community of artists works quietly alongside the hum of rotor blades and the roar of jet engines. Hidden from the world at large on most days, on March 20th 2010 the artists that call the airport home will open their studio doors and let the public into their creative process. I enjoy this day greatly. The crowd of visitors is convivial and eclectic and represents the diversity that I love in Los Angeles. Last year I missed the event as I was traveling and gathering inspiration in Japan. A number of artworks inspired by this journey to Kyoto and Tokyo will be on display. My studio is located at the Santa...

Gregg Chadwick In the Gion Rain 20"x20" oil on linen 2009

The Eyes - Composer Stuart Balcomb Gets Lost in Gregg Chadwick's Painting photo by Joanne Warfield

Gregg Chadwick Sea of Spring 春の海 (Haru no umi) 36"x48" oil on linen 2009 Japan has been a continual theme in my life and artwork. At age 10, I began my artistic dialogue with Japan before I even exited our arriving plane in Okinawa. On that journey I sketched the new world around me and have continued to do so over the years. My latest body of work was inspired by an artistic pilgrimage to Tokyo and Kyoto in March and April 2009. At that time, I was privileged to be in Kyoto at the height of the cherry blossom season. Young geisha in training (maiko) and full geisha brought their own color and timeless beauty to the city. The word geisha in Japanese means arts - person ( gei - sha). The flower and willow world of these caretakers of Japan's traditional arts seems to be as fragile and impermanent as the cherry blossoms that bloom so quickly then fall each year. Gregg Chadwick Gion Night 85"x37" oil on linen 2009 Gregg Chadwick Karyūkai ( 花柳界) 85"x...