The World of Joyce Kamikura

Artist's Statement

My Paintings represent my personal response to my environment. My ideas are not whole but fragments of what fascinate me and are seeds from which my works begin to develop. As a result, although my works undoubtedly have roots in my daily living, they may be a good deal removed from reality; some of them may be quite representational while others become abstracts.

By exaggerating vibrant colours, entertaining visual textures and other elements of design I take my painting mediums beyond their traditional execution; into mixed water media, acrylic, collage and oil. A subject leads to an idea. Then it becomes an immediate cause for me to paint, ultimately experiencing fun and struggle of permutations and possibilities deriving from that idea. It is not so much in the final product, but in the process and struggle to bring all elements together to function in harmonious presentation in a painting, that I derive so much satisfaction and pleasure as an artist. Visit my other site: http://joycekamikura.wordpress.com/

Sunday, March 4, 2018

2018 Jan-Feb. Vietnam and Cambodia with friends
I was fascinated by charming narrow three-storied houses crammed together on busy Hanoi streets with many signs of earlier French influence. Talk of busy, it's a venture just to cross a street. Most of the busiest corners don't even have signal lights. And swarm of motor-cyclists, cars, trucks and anything movable are going about doing their daily business to getting to places. Not fast, but steady movements so that if you want to cross the road, you just have to start walking, not running, so that anything moving will adjust around you. Cruising around Halong Bay and seeing Ho Chi Minh City, were great experiences. We left Vietnam by bus and entered Cambodia's Capital, Phnom Penh via Mekong River. I found people in the Kingdom of Cambodia to be such sweet-tempered and gentle mannered people in spite of horrendous experiences they were put through during the Khmer Rouge Regime. We were impressed by the mild demeanour of these people. Also, we were so lucky to have been at the right time there to see the famous Bohdi trees in full bloom with almost wax-like red flowers. But our high-lights were seeing series of ancient Angkor Temples around Siem Reap.