MatthewMeyer.net

100 Famous Views of Philadelphia is one of those projects I keep trying to go back to, but keep getting sidetracked with other things. So painting them is rather slow. I started this one back in July after I moved to Fukui, and then stopped working on it until this week, when I thought I really ought to finish it before moving on to another picture.

Springtime at Fairmount Park / フェアモント公園の陽春

If you haven’t had a chance to get out to Fairmount Park in early April, do yourself a favor and go! The trees really are something to behold, and the Japan America Society’s Cherry Blossom Festival is quite awesome.

Just in time (to see, not to buy) for the 2009 Subaru Cherry Blossom Festival, it’s 100 Famous Views of Philadelphia: Spring View of Shofuso (松風荘庭園の春景色). It was rough pulling this one together in just one month, with the proposal, wedding planning, and work, but I like how it came out. Being as these pieces are kind of partner to the Cherry Blossom Festival, it’s nice to have another cherry blossom themed piece too.

Now, you should go out and see the real thing, in Fairmount park! You can learn more about the Japanese House and Garden at www.shofuso.com, and you can learn more about the Cherry Blossom Festival at jasgp.org/cherryblossomfestival (as well as buy my prints — you know you want to).

Recently I finished the latest of 100 Famous Views of Philadelphia: Sunset at Independence Hall. I hope you enjoy it!

I’ve been pretty silent recently, and I’ve got a good excuse: the Cherry Blossom Festival! Things at work have been hectic preparing for our 10th anniversary festival, but I’m really excited about it. Having done it last year, this year I know what to expect, which helps temper the anxiety, so now I’m just really looking forward to everything. If you’re in the area, please go to the Festival! If not, just look at the website (I designed it too).

One of the coolest things about the Cherry Blossom Festival is (ahem) the unveiling of my new painting! Ta da daaa! 100 Famous View of Philadelphia #2: Flying Cherry Blossoms at City Hall (シティーホールの桜吹雪).

This being number 2 in the series, at this rate I’ll be done all 100 by 2106! I guess that does pose a little problem since I’m already 24… so if I’m going to finish them all (I’d really like to), I’d better get cracking. So for that reason, #3 is already on the way. Hopefully I’ll be able to crank out a few more before I move to Japan… and when I’m there I will continue to make more. (If I’m lucky, I may even get to do some real Japanese woodblock prints!)

So anyway, come to the Cherry Blossom Festival and buy my print! Help support your local artists and encourage us to keep making art!

I’ve been working on this for a little while now, in my spare time between d20 illustrations and work at the JASGP. This piece was done for the Cherry Blossom Festival, which I’ve been working pretty hard on so hopefully I can do something with this image. I’ve ordered a ton of prints (holy crap I’ve spent a lot of money on this painting!) and I’m planning to sell them throughout the festival. I really hope I can sell most of them at the festival, but I really don’t know. I’ve never done this sort of thing before. So wish me luck!

The image is sort of a parody/homage to one of Hokusai’s woodblock print series, 100 Famous Views of Edo (名所江戸百景). If you do an image search for 隅田川水神の森真崎, you’ll find the print on which I based my painting.