April 25th, 2024 | #SmallSeasons, Studio blog

Koinobori (Kokuu 穀雨) Rain For Harvests

Koinobori, meaning 'carp streamer' in Japanese, are carp-shaped windsocks traditionally flown in Japan to celebrate 'Tango no sekku' or Children's Day. Held on the 5th May it's a national holiday in Japan. This day falls on the cusp between Kokuu ...

June 21st, 2023 | #SmallSeasons, Studio blog

Yohena Hydrangea Garden (Geshi 夏至 ) Reaching Summer

As we head towards the start of Summer proper, here's a Japan inspired landscape painting featuring the Hydrangea Garden at Yohena, Okinawa. Following the fascinating micro seasons guide we have reached Geshi. This colour study is inspired by one ...

Mt Fuji Night Lights

Following on from my Northumberland postcard (featuring a sketch of Lindisfarne Castle)... this new digital sketch was inspired by a story from a local family. They described to me the most atmospheric hike I could imagine, scaling the slopes of Mt ...

Osaka Castle in the Snow
December 11th, 2020 | #SmallSeasons, #WorldSeries, Studio blog

No. 31 – Osaka Castle in Winter (Taisetsu 大雪) Big Snow

I love the idea of measuring the year in smaller seasons. Prior to the Gregorian calendar, farmers in China and Japan broke each year down into 24 sekki or “small seasons.” These seasons didn't use dates to mark seasons, but instead, they ...

Temples and Torii Gates - Illustration by Jonathan
June 17th, 2020 | #PaperDiorama, Studio blog

Temples & Torii Gates

I've always been fascinated with the landscape and culture of Japan. I wrote about it a little in my influences page here. It's lovely to see that i'm not the only one... as the Mt Fuji painting created for my World Series has proved extremely ...

Railay Beach Thailand - Illustration by Jonathan Chapman
August 3rd, 2018 | #WorldSeries, Studio blog

No. 26 – Railay Beach, Thailand

Krabi is one of the southern provinces (changwat) of Thailand East of Phuket across Phang Nga Bay. The province is on the Strait of Malacca and is noted for its natural beauty. There are solitary limestone peaks, both on land and in ...

Taj Mahal - Illustration by Jonathan Chapman

No. 25 – The Taj Mahal, India

The Taj Mahal (meaning "Crown of the Palace") is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the south bank of the Yamuna river in the Indian city of Agra. It was commissioned in 1632 by the Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan, to house the tomb of his ...

Forbidden City Beijing - Illustration by Jonathan Chapman

No. 23 – The Forbidden City, Beijing

The Forbidden City is a palace complex in central Beijing, China. The former Chinese imperial palace from the Ming dynasty to the end of the Qing dynasty (1420 to 1912), it now houses the Palace Museum. The Forbidden City served as the ...

Hong Kong Island by Jonathan Chapman

No.12 – Hong Kong Island

No. 12 of my 2018 world series challenge is Hong Kong Island. Hong Kong island became a colony of the British Empire when their forces defeated the Chinese in the First Opium War (1839-1842). The island was populated by only a few thousand ...

Books & Catalogues - Illustration by Jonathan Chapman
Books & Catalogues - Illustration by Jonathan Chapman
Books & Catalogues - Illustration by Jonathan Chapman
Books & Catalogues - Illustration by Jonathan Chapman
Books & Catalogues - Illustration by Jonathan Chapman
Books & Catalogues - Illustration by Jonathan Chapman
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