Japonism, Woodblock Surimono Prints

Japanese woodblock prints have been a big influence in my still life watercolors.
The French Impressionists, particularly Manet,

collected Japanese prints like mad. The abstract areas of black in the prints, the mastery of balance in composition achieve serenity and intensity at the same time,

all strongly influenced their paintings.
My studio walls are covered with print reproductions. I like to think I'll soak up their beauty by osmosis.
Utter simplicity balanced with wonderful negative/positive shapes.
I bought this facsimile ages ago. The colors are so soft and delicate, yet the composition is very strong. Artists began making still life prints after Commodore Perry "opened" Japan and the new influx of European painting.

The ships also brought in the Prussian or Paris Blue pigment you see in so many prints.

I can't resist Japanese household objects either; 

the shiny, deep reds, pale greens and blacks.

Plus all the wonderful surface textures. I bought all of these at KORIN.

The book that got me addicted:

The Great Wave:the influence of Japanese woodcuts on the French, from an exhibit at the Met. The prints first showed up in France,used as wrapping paper for shipped pottery from Japan. Their strong patterns and asymetrical compositions captivated the Impressionists. Van Gogh copied them exactly in oils to better understand them. I started collecting prints after that show and they still hold my rapt attention.

(Reposted from October 26, 2006)

Sadaharu Aoki

Sado Tea Cup, Watercolor, 5" x 7"

Recently I leaned down to pick up a piece of paper off the floor. My floor is a lot like my closet , full of unexpected oddments.

I found a crumpled receipt from Sadaharu Aoki on 35, rue Vaugirard, dated 05/16/2006. The day before my birthday, so I stopped in to celebrate early.

Choosing what to eat in any Parisian pâtisserie is never easy. I regret I didn't pig out. It's much easier when your taking things away, pretending you're buying for others even when you mange sur place.

You tell yourself, "How many times am I in Paris"? And "I would never do this at home" blablabla. No one is fooled.

Certainly not the vendeuse, who is only too happy to let you pig out all you want.

You see Japanese tetsubin tea pots all over Paris, but no where more appropriately than at Sadaharu Aoki.When you sit down in a place like Sadaharu you want to be reserved and bien-élevé. I wish I’d tasted all the lovely things La Tartine Gourmande tasted. At last my thé verte and chocolate Opera cake arrived! This teapot is not so easy to paint BTW... that's why I covered up the unhappy results with more Opera cake above. I'll be off to Paris in about 19 days, 7 minutes, 16 seconds and I promise to bring back more dessert pictures and less decor. 

Chocolat et Thé

I was walking along rue de Rennes, looking for a hairdresser, when par hasard/by chance I found instead tiny Duo Trio, 88, rue de Rennes 75006. The ultimate chocolat et thé shop...

Their l'ardoise/blackboard sitting out in the street stopped me in my tracks. I love to check out the écriture française. This one was titled Mariage Frères? Ah, they are allowed to carry Mariage Frères thés.

In the vitrine/window - Mariage Fréres tablettes de chocolat. Who knew they made chocolate? And so chic in their black wrappers. And what a beautiful red Tetsubin. I saw Japanese iron teapots all over Paris in May.

Another petite magasin filled with treasures. On your left sit tall red tea tins in a beautiful comptoir de magasin /display case. I asked the vendeuse/saleswoman how long they'd been there, thinking it was years and years. Just 1 year she told me!

In the case are what I call the "sniffing jars". Do tell if you know the correct name. You help yourself and open as many as you want, till you find your dream tea. Just don't mix up those lids.

The vendeuse will weigh out your choice into a small tin or packet. So how come it's perfectly normal in France to take thé with your chocolats? Milk + cookies and apple pie + vanilla ice cream are a given combo in the US. But drinking tea with chocolates? Never heard of it. 

Chocolate connoisseur,Chloe Doutre-Roussel filled me in. Thé is a gourmet's drink in Europe and has been for 5-10 years now. More and more gourmets are choosing tea over coffee. We're talking really good teas, not flavored teas.

The tea connoisseur will seek out the subtilities of the greens, the oolongs, the oxydated (fermented) teas. French chocolatiers secretly agree coffee kills chocolate as does alcohol. Even though they may display alcohol-filled chocolates, well they sell easily.

But coffee bean aromas are too strong for chocolate. No way will you find coffee beans in a chocolate shop. The delicate aromas of tea do not interfere with chocolate. Et voilà. Americans are just getting into fine dark single origin chocolate bars and fine teas are becoming more prevalent, so perhaps it's just a matter of time.

Thé et chocolat is waiting for you in Paris. I hope we won't have to wait too long till we can find this wonderful combination stateside. Meantime I'd like to be one of these théieres/teapots sitting in a chocolate shop gazing out at rue de Rennes.

Paris Hearts Tetsubin Teapots

Tea and chocolate are a natural pair for Parisians and you'll see giant tins of tea in most chocolate shops. The idea is you take an afternoon tea and nibble a few chocolates. 

All over Paris I kept seeing Japanese cast iron tea pots (une théière japonaise de forme plate) called TETSUBIN. In specialty tea shops, in chocolate shops. These red enamel tea tins are inside La Bonbonnière de la Trinité in the 9ème. Note cast iron tea pots sitting on top of tins.

I passed this shop window on rue de l'Odéon rushing to the Metro and was smitten. An entire window full of Tetsubin tea pots and inside too!

Each teapot is hand cast. The best are made in the Iwate district and called Nanbu-tekki. They were first produced in the 16th century for tea ceremony use.

This Japanese surimono woodblock print by Teisai Shuri has influenced my still life watercolors, so it was a lovely surprise to see the same teapot 🫖 all over Paris.

I would stop by M.'s for a cup of tea after my morning swim and admire her teapot. Finally she lent it to me.

Hokusai used a tetsubin to heat his tea -- note the blackened bottom in both prints. *Never put your pot directly over the fire. Only brew your tea in the Tetsubin and it will retain the heat for a long time. I bought this Tetsubin when I got home on the Bowery at Leader's, a Japanese restaurant supply house. I'll paint it soon.

Tetsubin watercolor on Etsy