Michael Stitt Ph.D

“My art is influenced by three profound visits to Japan in, 2016, 2018 & 2019, respectively, in which I initially undertook Japanese music studies and eventually doctoral research into Japanese aesthetics and philosophy. I predominately paint in Japanese black ink and aim to express my story in a Zen-like minimalist way. Each of my artworks aims to tell a narrative of the mysteriousness and timelessness of Nature, and the urgency of our species to take a harmonious place within our ecologically rich blue planet. The unique Japanese aesthetic concepts of Yugen, Mono No Aware, and Wabi-Sabi are reflected in my artworks.

I frequently do the painting and then write a music composition inspired by it. My works are usually fantasies of the mind and imagination. Whether considered within the Japanese landscape or associated with the Arabian desert, they are timeless and deeply personal concepts.

Wabi Sabi is defined as a worldview centered on the acceptance of transience and imperfection. An aesthetic beauty that is derived from the imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete. In practicing Sumi-e he applies different shades of grey using water and black ink providing an infinite array of design capabilities. The objective is to obtain the maximum visual effect with the minimum of ink applied. Hence, enough ink to convey the idea, and for the viewer to complete the picture through their imagination. The narrative conveyed is a reverence and respect for nature, with humanity being depicted, metaphorically, as being in harmony with the ecologically rich natural world. Mountains and landscapes are portrayed as the most important element of the painting."