Happy New Year 2021 everybody!!
The !ast year has come and gone. Not great in some ways, but good in other ways.
Art has become more important as people worldwide seem to be strange and stranger!!
Anyway carrying on …
Have a blessed New Year!
Summer 2020 is here!
Finally, 5 weeks of rain rain rain are over!!
Yippieh!!
People all around the world are crazy! Yippieh!!
And the animals are wondering, why…!
Why are they behaving so strangely??!
And the mountains don’t care. And the trees don’t know. Of course.
They don’t have a black box at home that gives them the creeps on a daily basis.
May be good to be a bird in these days?! An eagle maybe…
Meanwhile the current projects, especially animation, are underway.
A Science Fiction! A dystopian Science Fiction! What an irony! It doesn’t seem to be much of a Fantasy any more!
Welcome to 2020….
Anyway here some of the latest works…
2020 – The Year of Time and Space
Planet V. (Javelin Anime 2019)
Happy New Year everybody!!
As we have entered the new year, the ‘Year of Time and Space’, the JAVELIN project is well underway. I hope you all had a good start into 2020!
A snow tree in bright sunlight with little snowblossoms (made by my son) were the first signs of spring…. or so I hope!
In realty, it’s winter! Cold, freezing, but very few snow! Meanwhile at the Studio art projects are moving ahead…
Manga schemes, storyboard structures and Anime elements are being worked on.
Happy January to all…
End of the year 2019
Blessed days to everybody …
I hope you all have time to wind down and relax after 2019!
See you in the new year 😁
December 2019 – Mild weather
The start of the winter this years seems rather slow, mild days and sunshine …
In November I even managed to go swimming in the ocean for an hour … pretty cold!! But great.
Before swimming …
While swimming…!
This the view when standing in the water, and the next wave of cold water is approaching …
A cold experience, but an experience anyways!!
Other than that there were a lot of days packed with work, and quiet lunch breaks, sometimes in the middle of nature …
A few days to go, in 2019. And I hope everybody out there gets a peaceful, blessed end of 2019 …
October 2019 – Taifun season
Welcome to strong winds, heavy rain and roaring big waves …
Here it is not uncommon to go through that experience every two weeks.
Some impressions …
Sometimes I wish to just take one of these boats and go to sea …
August 2019 – What a heat!
This year has been especially hot and too warm at night but there were also nicer moments …
The sea can be a relief in these times.
And artworks are being produced, abeit at a slower pace!
Primary production artworks of the Caribea Film Studios …
… and the recent Secondary production artworks …
July 2019 – Impressions from last year 1
There we go, one year and another winter has past, and I have not managed to keep up! But after every busy time there follows a quieter time… or so I hope. Anyway these images are from last year’s July…
As spring came into full swing, outdoor activities were trending. I had to construct a bow and arrows for my son …
Happy New Year 2019!!!
For me it starts now!
Happy that the winter is kind of over.
And the new year started with snow, as well as sake manufacturing and art works. The Javelin project well under way…
November 2018 – Little summer celebration!
November 2018 – Summer impressions 4
After the flood July developed to be extremely hot and humid!
At the studio two expedition members took refuge, because the heat outside was kind of unbearable!
But then once in a while a little excursion to a local creek helped getting some cool and refreshing minutes.
But the biggest heat hadn’t even started yet …
And only the ocean brought some cooler moments …
Still, even though hot temperatures, July has been a great month.
Blue sky and peaceful landscapes …
November 2018 – Summer impression 3 – Flooding!
November 2018 – Summer impressions 2
In the beginning of July we have had beautiful sunny days … but then suddenly a taifun came through!
October 2018 – Summer impressions 1
June 2018 – Spring impressions
Spring in full swing here …
In my garden everything grows … and I mean everything!
That garden turned into Jurassic Park!
But generally speaking I like spring and the push of the greens!
Here some impressions of the wildlife park that is my garden!
But then I managed to clean it all up!
By now it looks like a garden again. Work in progress!
Meanwhile at the Studio …
June 2018 – Back on the air – A flashback of April and May
A lot of work in my new job producing rice for everybody …
The production starts in the factory building. We mix seeds and soil together, machines put that mix into trays. Then we put them into greenhouses, one by one! 24 greenhouses, 1750 trays each!
And there they grow and become the rice plant …
In the first greenhouses the little seedlings have to grow some days before they are brought into the regular greenhouses.
Agriculture – Love it or hate it, but someone has to go through the experience of arranging these trays for many days and many hours…
And then … sometimes it does rain, too …
Basically I liked it.
In May all over the countryside you can see the ricefields as if they were little lakes …
Many trucks start showing up in the middle of the month, and people are picking up hundreds of our trays each, only to bring them to their ricefields where they grow until September.
The greenhouses are getting emptied and we start washing the empty trays that are being returned by the farmers. Thousands and thousands of trays …
Now, in June, we are still … washing trays …
Break the chains – April 2018 – A flashback of February and March
Finally spring is here.
It feels like the chains are broken. Warm days, flowers and greens bursting from their sockets …
I feel like running Hawkeye-eye style through the forests…
On April 3rd finally swimming in the ocean again…
In some regions I feel like being in the Toscana or on a Greek island…
Idyllic harbours, peacefully quiet…
2018-The new year has arrived! Happy New Year everybody!
It’s been absolutely chaotic since the end of December…
Gigantic snowfall, computer broken for four weeks, car broken, snow shoveling everyday for three weeks. Unbelievable! I think I am in Canada, here!!
Here some impressions…
That is today, January 31st. But the weeks before were like this:
See you next time around ….
November 2017 – Hi, Hai!
Poor guy, shark stranded on the beach. Didn’t move any more.
So I called this beach ‘Dead Shark Bay’.
Swimming thereafter felt a bit strange then. But I did it anyway.
November 2017 – Last ocean-swimming this year?
Even though the air has gotten colder, the water seemed somewhat okay to me. So I swam once more for an hour on November, 10th.
Touchdown … cool ocean water …
A beautiful day in November. And I had a customer close to the beach, so I just spent my lunch-break at the beach.
November 2017 – Colors changing
Finally the days have gotten shorter and the nights colder, so the leaves are turning yellow, orange, purple…
Here the view from my house:
And on my property there are two, three trees that even started blossoming, now in November. How crazy is that? Beautiful pinkish blossoms. On the other one there were some mini-cherries all over the place.
In earlier years I wanted to live in Canada. And now I sometimes find myself in a place that comes close … this one might as well be somewhere in Vancouver Island.
October 2017 – Side jobs & co.
Besides my art works project and the Language and Sports Studio I am also trying get more experience and collect more impressions from living in Japan, doing also all kinds of other jobs. on the side.
Here I cut firewood for a newly-opened gourmet restaurant in downtown Hiroshima.
My second art fair, here in Japan.
This time I was a little more prepared than last time. And the response was very satisfying!
September 2107 – Preparations
A quiet month in which I mainly prepared the little Art Fair nearby.
An opportunity to exhibit some of the artworks, and check out the response.
In my show-window I displayed some of my paintings, just to see about how they look like together in a window.
August 2017 – Peaceful Cove
We discovered a little lagoon, quiet waters and many shades of blue …
Well-equipped with our new yacht, we went down to the beaches.
There we found the lagoon … quiet water and a lot of fish and underwater plants …
Out front the scout, and the Admiral holding the flag in the center of the vessel.
In the end the Admiral took the rudder himself …
August 2017 – River dance in summer
A little update on our river adventure from August … some more photos that is!
We went there with some relatives.
They were basically fishing, and my son and I went swimming.
Holding on to my neck he managed to keep his head out of the water and we maneuvered around the little pool that the river had carved out of the rocks. And then we started doing some swimming (and jumping) exercises …
Good bye from the Sidearm River!
See you next time.
Please feel free to leave a comment down below …
August 2017 – Hot days
A lot of things happened and are happening, a very active time in summer. And the days extremely hot and humid …
At the studio it has been hard to work at times, even drawing and painting has been quite difficult.
But nevertheless my assistant and me went little day-trips, discovering sometimes great sights and places together …
Sometimes we decided to cool down and swim in the nearby river. But now, in August … no cool down there! The water was warm! … still, it has been a nice day in the end of August.
And then the end of August came and along with it strong summer storms …
But afterwards the air has often been refreshing and a bit cooler. And the sunset colors were more intensive …
Why am I here (in Asia)? Origins 1996 in Canada!
Recently I looked at some older photos, and suddenly I remembered how it came to pass that I am now here in Asia … far East!
It begins 1996, when I traveled to Canada, … to the West!
I went there in order to find a job and basically try to live there for some years or more.
And there in August I met the person that I was going to marry 4 years later, the person that I am tied up with until today, and who is actually one of the reasons I am here in Asia now.
The following photos are from a canoe tour in Canada that I took together with my brother in 1996 just before that meeting. It is, if you want to put it that way, my last trip as being ‘a single’ person …
2 gringos and the canoe ‘Old T’, as the name of the thing written on the side of the canoe was almost not visible any more.
On the day before starting out on the tour, my brother and I visited some cultural heritage sites, including a place where we saw some tipis.
In that time it was my dream basically to live like that.
There was absolutely no city nearby. Just a few little villages. It really felt as if it was 200 years ago, as if no civilization were there yet …
And then we visited an old town near the lake circuit, an historic town that gave us the feeling that we have traveled back in time.
There we have seen interesting buildings and Canadians dressed up in historic clothing that helped giving you the feeling that it was 150 years ago or so.
A picture taken from 1880 …
But in reality …
we were preparing for our departure the next day …
We stayed at some new friends that lived close enough to the lake.
And we slept in their bus! … pretty cool thing, I thought!
Then, the day we started … it was raining.
But we didn’t really think to abort the tour. We started out.
The first 2 kilometers we had to push the canoe, pretty heavy thing, loaded with food and equipment through the forest. Narrow paths full of roots, stones, and increasingly … slimy mud, as the rain intensified by the minute!!
Boots soaking wet, socks, too. Trousers, too. Up to the knees we were completely wet. Good that we both had ponchos that kept the upper body dry … but actually we were sweating like crazy, so we were wet anyway!
Then we finally reached the first lake, Kibbee Lake, I think, was its name.
Finally canoeing!
Swiftly floating on the water! And the rain had even stopped for a while, so I could take my camera out, a present from my father that I was happy to have there!
In the middle of August, it suddenly snowed on the mountains surrounding us …
… and we decided to call it a day, and camp right there!
And as I had dreamt about swimming in a Canadian lake as soon as possible, I did that right there!
It was not exactly what I had had in mind, but … who cares …
Evening came … and there was a hut. In that hut we drank hot tea, and then set up the tent. When it got dark, it got darrrrrrk! And no sound at all. The next town maybe 60 or 80 km away, no street, no road, no telephone, no mobile phone (it was 1996, so they didn’t exist much, either!), no fast food.
The next day, after a pretty good sleep, we decided to stay there another day and wait for the weather. We didn’t have a plan besides just being there! And that goal has been accomplished already. So …
My brother tried fishing there. It was one of his dreams. He caught nothing.
But it looked cool !
… The next day we were thinking about staying or going on.
We stayed another day, but then, we went on, as the sky seemed to get brighter.
But as we were paddling slowly for an hour or so, we heard a rumbling from afar. Thunder! Great!
But at that point we already decided to go on. And if the storm intensified we wanted to get out of the water.
But thankfully, it went away.
Then we met some people! Two ladies from the States, who did the lake tour the same time. we had a nice talk with them. It’s almost strange to meet somebody there. No cars, but canoes instead! We were fooling around, taking pictures.
Then we went on, a long, seemingly neverending lake. My brother moaned and groaned about its lenghts, and of course, it was against the wind. A stiff breeze. And our heavy canoe, the ‘Old T’ once sunk by the reasonably high waves and strong winds, might have never resurfaced … or so he told me back then.
But it never sunk.
It was a great, majestic tour inbetween the Rocky Mountains, snow covered peaks and gigantic slopes …
Then finally we reached to what my brother called the fat ass of the lake.
Finally, no wind! What a surprise! The water calm like a mirror.
And just when we reached that place, a huge bald eagle passed by, and right beside us, he dashed into the water, and with a big splash, caught a fish, … and disappeared again, in just a few seconds.
We just stared, baffled.
The following camp was the last one before the rapids.
With our heavy canoe we didn’t go through it, but transported it a little bit down the stream, and went for a short portion.
But … it wasn’t the same as on the map, and we almost went down a 10 meter waterfall. Almost!
We managed to steer hard in the final curve before the waterfall and making a crashing ‘landfall’ on a 5 meter sandy beach spot.
Spot on! One might say.
Well, it was the final spot there was …
After the waterfall … a calm river. Without paddling we drifted downstream. Just like in a dream.
Civilization now being as far away from us as ever.
And at the start of Lanezi Lake we stopped on a beautiful beach. I wanted to swim again.
My brother stayed in the boat, ready to dash away, in case a bear came sprinting out of the woods and wanting to have us for dinner.
Of course he was fighting the mosquitoes and horseflies and their friends, too.
I loved the place, but we soon went on, as sunset was approaching.
Lanezi Lake wasn’t a real pleasure, as there was a strong wind again, making paddling extremely hard. At times it seemed as if we were just paddling on the spot. 5 meters in 5 minutes or so. But the nature around us just magnificent.
Then we camped there another night.
The next day we saw two moose, in the distance …
After successfully completing Lanezi we reached Sandy Lake, calm waters, no wind.
My brother wanted to go on quickly, finishing the tour now, as fast as possible. But I felt like staying here forever or so …
Well, the compromise was, kind of, 5 minutes.
The last portion, an enormous amount of kilometers per day for us, we completed in a single day. From the camp at Lanezi, back to final Lake. Along the way, stunning sights.
Then, completed. We did it!
And the last portion, just before sunset, was a maze of swampy like rivers.
We were floating between what seemed like high grass forests. And thereafter: the final lake, open waters.
And in the last light of sunset we approached the coast …
… a coast that was sprinkled by a few lights. The lights of civilization again. At the time we were happy to see them in the dark.
On the other hand I was thankful for this tour, and tried to consciously watch every last moment of it before it was over.
…
Only a few days after that I was to meet the person that basically was a big reason why I am now currently living in Asia, … the other side of the world!
… I hope you enjoyed this little canoe trip!
I’d be happy to read your comment, down below.
And of course, every ‘like’ is appreciated, too! 😉
July 2017 – 10km Running Event
How about running? Okay?
How about 10km? Okay?
On a very hot day? Okay …
Starting flat and easy, then gradually getting steeper, and then, for the final 7km or so more or less steadily up up up …? O…kay??
And the finish line is at the highest peak around, crossed at lunchtime in the middle of July’s heat! O… Noooo!
But I didn’t know that beforehand. So there I went …
9 o’clock in the morning – starting …
The beginning was super easy. Then we went through the tunnel, and I began to see runners as goof-balls … hallucination??
Then… uphill…
And from then on, basically uphill, all the time!
Then… finally… 500meters to go.
And on top of the highest hill: the finish line…
What a run! Out of breath, out of steps… but glad to having finished…
And then: relaxing, watching other runners finish their race, eating and drinking, and … sweating in the heat.
Very thankful also for the drinks and the fruit …
Waiting for the final runners, and then: lunch!
On the way back (by shuttle bus) to the starting area: a last look at the beautiful scenery of the run.
July 2017 – ‘Land of the Wind’
A short visit to a peaceful park.
One of the few occasions when we have a little time for something out of the box …
There we have found a little exhibition. And there were 2 strange swordsmen …
The reality: notice the foot on the right side of the picture … XD
July 2017 – Habemus progress
This month finally works on my road leading to the house have been successful.
With all the plants growing like crazy, and insects getting more in numbers than sand on the beach, it is a challenge to make progress, working around the house …
With a lot of rain pouring down from the skies it is not easy either.
But then … suddenly sunshine again for 20 minutes! That’s Rain Season!
Little by little there is some progress.
Habemus Update: 20 July 2017 …
Road progress: my parking lot and the road to the house 90 per cent cleaned …
The grass is cut, too. (Once again!)
Feel free to leave a comment down below!
July 2017 – Tennis Meeting
Even here in the countryside some people occasionally get together to play tennis. On that day in Rain Season we even had a little meeting, championship-style, under the roof of the local tennis court …
July 2017 – Hiking and Running
In order to prepare for a regional running event (10km) I have picked a quite challenging route. On my free day I went for an hour . The air was very humid so you start sweating even without moving at all. So if you start running, a lot of sweat ‘starts running’ down your skin, too …
July 2017 – Birthday update: Painting started again
On my birthday in the last few days of July I’ve finally come to do some painting again, experimenting with watercolor …
Working in the new studio many things have to be tested yet.
July 2017 – Ocean summer …
Finally some time to take a look at the ocean nearby:
‘Should I … should I not …?’
But after a short time of hesitating the blue participant dashed into the waves …
June 2017 – Rain Season
It has started … water pouring down from the sky …
Sometimes the rivers carry a lot of water as the clouds unleash their potential …
In that time indoor-activities are getting more attractive:
But it isn’t always raining in Rain Season. Sometimes, very rarely, it stops raining and then the mountains look majestic, crowned with dazzling clouds …
June 2017 – Undoukai for 1st-graders
What is an Undoukai?
On a weekend parents, teachers and kids get together and compete in all kinds of contests that involve speed, strength, skill and so on …
Again the climate is an element worth mentioning. With an event stretching out over a period of 6 hours or more, the sun can be a bit dangerous. So it is always a good idea to look for shadowy places while being there. Or you can bring your own pavilion …
June 2017 – Rain Season – Impressions
What do you do in the Rain Season in Japan? You stay inside basically!
And that’s why:
tooooo … much … water !
But after the rain it is often quite nice:
Greetings from the green and rainy valley …
… until next time …
With the rain season in full swing now, plants growing like crazy it is time for a little snapshot: two months of ‘habemus’ now …
When going up the opposite mountain ridge you can see this:
There you go: the valley in which it is situated.
closer …
closer …
too close?
From the street view into the gardens and the house …
until next time …