Itoshima Meditation

Itoshima Meditation, 2025.
Gouache, coloured pencil and Akashiya Sai watercolour brush pen on Fabriano 300 g cold press watercolour paper.
48 x 36 cm.
Euro 510 incl. framing
High quality 45 x 60 Barth maple frameswith CLARITY AR70 Glass - anti-reflective and with UV-protection.
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Itoshima Meditation (2025)
Made during my residency in coastal Itoshima in 2025, this piece was inspired by the calm of the sea and the patterned glass windows in the old traditional house I stayed in.
➡ It all started during the winter of 2024. I was looking for something new. I started creating from a place of flow—no plans, without thinking, playing with lines and colour. These abstract works, which I call Meditations, bring me calm and clarity. Just me and the paper.
In April 2025, I spent a month at Studio Kura in Itoshima. Surrounded by the sea and mountains, the ocean became the inspiration for 'Itoshima Meditation', painted in deep blue and bright white.
Another spark of inspiration came from the window glass in the old house I stayed in during my artist in residence. It had soft, geometric patterns that let in light while offering privacy. A local told me how rare this glass was. Back in the Netherlands, my friend Mayu Miyazaki explained it was called Kataita, or Shōwa Retro Glass—very popular made from the 1950s well into the ’70s by pressing patterns into molten glass.
Frosted glass, which also provided privacy, required coating and sanding transparent glass. It was an expensive and fragile product while Kataita glass was durable, affordable and gave greater creative freedom. Over a hundred patterns emerged and the glass became extremely popular in postwar Japan. It is now a rare sight but still a feast for the eyes. The design in the house I stayed in is from 1970 and known as ‘Circuit’ or ‘Race Track' produced by Nippon Sheet Glass Co., Ltd.