ema girl (doves)

Artist's notes on style, materials and inspiration:

The decoration on this large turned Tulipwood girl originated from an 1857 votive ema plaque of two doves in a pine tree, by Nishii Takami. Often seen in some older Japanese paintings, particularly on wood, the pine tree foliage is a blue colour - I am not sure whether this is because it has faded blue from the original green or if it was always this colour (I am guessing the former). Either way it is beautiful and striking to see it in this colourway and I've kept it for my interpretation (see last photo for the original version).

The word 'ema' is written with the kanji for picture and horse: 絵馬 because they originated as pictures of horses to replace the live horse offerings given to some shrines and temples. These votive plaques were first made on many different sizes of wooden panel, and included pictures of other things as well as horses; nowadays the small wooden plaques bought at shrines can have almost anything on them, but the title ema remains. 

A note about 'Wood Girls'

My wood girls are turned by a production turner to my designs and then added to and hand painted in the U.K. by me, a British artist, exploring patterns and scenes encountered by me on my travels and in daily life. My pieces are painted in a naïve and simple style, with visible brush strokes and differing paint consistencies. It is important to note that these dolls are made from real wood which will have naturally occurring markings and grain, and sometimes there will be small amount of bleeding along the grain, or knots, which is to be expected when using untreated wood - please make sure you consult the pictures carefully before purchasing.

Hand painted and finished in a matt acrylic protective top coat.
Painted underneath with roaring bear head, and comes on a little veneered stand that also has a bear head painting on the underside.
Approximately 21cm high, excluding stand.

Please note: THIS IS NOT A TOY and should be kept out of the reach of children. Wood girls should be kept away from water which can damage the wood and painted surface, and also away from direct heat/ sunlight which also can affect the surface colour and the timber itself.