Yō

Oil pastel. 思わぬ方向に展開した瞬間: 子供の頃から好きなおとぎ話の一つだけでなく、一番大事かもしれない。過去に、この話を描いたことがある。彼岸花は「別れ」を表す The moment it all falls apart: This story (also Tsuru Nyobo [The Crane Wife]) has been one of my favorite stories since childhood & perhaps the most important. It begins with an injured crane who is saved by human kindness. Later, a young woman appears at the rescuer’s door during a … Read more

Oil Pastel. The Bully Goat (Коза-дереза) is a Ukrainian* folktale about a bratty goat who steals a bunny’s home. Many animals try to help the bunny, but even wolf and bear are scared of the threatening voice coming from the house. “I’ll bash you with my horns! I’ll trample you with my hooves!” Finally the … Read more

Ink. 鎌鼬. A 3-weasel yokai of unusual intrigue and great energy that you barely see, barely feel, and soon forget. It is the source of mysterious little booboos you notice after the fact & can’t remember getting. Hanae Rivera.

Ink & watercolor. This spider yokai lends its name to a deep pool in the Hirose River that I visited on a trip to Sendai. Similar stories can be found all over Japan: Once upon a time, a man was fishing when he noticed a spider had looped its thread around his leg. He, in … Read more

Ink. There’s nothing charming about the Wendigo. It is a creature of the lore of Algonquin-speaking peoples of the First Nations representing the loss of humanity to cannibalism, greed, and desperation in harshest winter. The most haunting stories tell of its luring victims by imitating the voices of their lost loved ones. It is perhaps … Read more

Ink. Grimm fairy tale #197. A lot going on in this non-classic. Youngest Son’s Enchantress Mama turns both his older brothers into beasts so he flees. This is the scene after he’s managed to kill the bull and get the magic bird to drop its egg with the crystal ball in its yolk with the … Read more

Woodblock print. Tailypo, tailypo, WHERE IS MY TAILYPO?! The Appalachian story of the Tailypo is perhaps the most quintessentially American scary story after the Headless Horseman. I didn’t like scary stories as a child but I remember appreciating this one because it comes in several shades of gore. It is the story of a man … Read more

Woodblock print. King of American beasts. Truly an introspective sort. West Coast represent. ビッグフットはアメリカの最も有名なUMA(不確認動物)です。生息地：太平洋岸北西部の森 Hanae Rivera.

Watercolor. The Jackalope is the icon of magical creatures in America. As a kid going on roadtrips through the west, I saw these critters everywhere. Mostly as taxidermied heads on walls of roadside restaurants, gas stations, and the like. They are also sometimes spotted in the forms of sufferers of The Shope papilloma virus, which … Read more

Watercolor. The Cactus Cat is a fearsome creature said to roam the American Southwest. It likes to slice up cacti and get drunk on the fermented juice. It’s pretty prickly itself, so unwary bystanders may get spiked as it stumbles around. サボテン猫はアメリカ南西部に生息している未確認動物です。サボテンを切って発酵された汁を飲むのが好きです。この猫はサボテンのようにトゲだらけだから、注意してください。 Hanae Rivera.