cut and torn paper / wood 10 1/8″ x 7 1/4″
The fiercely playful Nekomata (猫叉) joins my hoard of Yokai today. When I first came to Japan, I wondered why so many cats were completely lacking in tails. I guessed that they might be a strangely stubby local breed. It turns out that the owners cut off the tails when the cat is a kitten so it won’t turn into a nekomata, a “forked-cat”.
How a cat becomes a nekomata (or any kind of bake-neko / monster cat) is…odd. And downright ungrateful. If a cat is fed in the same place for a certain number of years, it turns evil. It then grows to rather unusual size, walks around on its hind legs, plays with dangerously magical fireballs (or dangerously fiery magic balls?), and can transform into a human. Most creepily, they are said to be able to re-animate the dead and control them like puppets. Big, ooky, used-to-be-your-best-friend puppets. (image details below the bump)
From a creative standpoint, this piece made me realize something very, very important. Thinking “For my next piece, I want to do something quick and fun!”, is the surest way to guarantee that I will be spending days and days wracking my brains on how to get that piece done. Nekomata fought me nearly every step of the way, particularly when it came to color. For some reason, I hit a massive wall when trying to pick the right color scheme. Ghostly, yet fun. Creepy, yet light and funky. I’m very happy with the way my kitty turned out, but, man, I got scratched alot. Thank goodness for the hours of amusement my bony friends provided. Poor Goemon, I think he’s getting dizzy, being batted around like that.
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August 17, 2008 at 5:22 pm
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June 28, 2008 at 8:13 am
Paper Pictures
Wow- this is amazing! I love seeing the details! Really impressive work. About how long does this take you to make? Just curious, because I also think things always take longer to make than I think they will.
June 28, 2008 at 12:55 pm
Julia
Really nice work. Every single piece.
I didn´t see a style like this before and the colours
are great too. Go on with this nice stuff!
June 28, 2008 at 5:02 pm
sandra
Love reading the story behind the work. Thank you. It is great and to think that it was done in cut and torn paper, very skilful.
June 28, 2008 at 7:04 pm
Eric
I really like this work. What a wonderful style. I’ll bet it takes quite a bit of planning to pull of an artwork like this. You should be very proud! Also, thank you for visiting my blog.
June 29, 2008 at 7:52 am
Christine
Wow. Your work never seizes to amaze me. This great piece is no exception. Very beautiful
June 29, 2008 at 8:48 am
goturtlepwr@yahoo.com
man, your work is so wickedly good, no great!! Seriously, my mind is blown off here.
July 1, 2008 at 4:04 am
Mixed Media Martyr
Wow! Your paper cutting is fantastic! It just entrances me every time I come and look at it. It has a traditional feel to it one glance and a funky fresh feel at the next glance.
July 1, 2008 at 5:01 am
Bridget
Your work is uber fascinating…I love this artistaday gadget via google. There is a modern intricacy beyond Hokusai, a la ‘The Great Wave’… more engaging than Tim Burton’s neo-goth art deco-ness.
So happy to have found your work!!!!
B
July 1, 2008 at 6:31 am
RSadler
very special work. and successful too! Congratulations on your achievement.
July 1, 2008 at 8:25 am
martha
I just discovered your work! I absolutely LOVE your work! I found my new art obsession!
July 1, 2008 at 11:23 am
Connie Martin
Must add my congratulations; you do make people feel like they must start cutting now!
July 1, 2008 at 3:09 pm
daisy
Very cool! I often wondered that myself; I remember seeing many tailless cats in Japan as well; now I know! Crazy!
: D Love the mythology and the imagery together- makes for a great piece!
July 1, 2008 at 7:31 pm
andi
just beautiful, love the eyes!!
a : )
July 2, 2008 at 7:28 am
Neda
GORGEOUS golden cat! Meow!
July 2, 2008 at 10:48 pm
patrick
Hi everyone! Thank you all for your very kind comments, and welcome to everyone from http://www.artistaday.com! Sorry it took so long to post my thoughts here…I got sideswiped by a few things that needed taking care of (some art-related, some not). In any case, I really appreciate all of your thoughts and kindness!
Paper Pictures - This particular piece really fought me for some reason. I don’t know exactly how long it took, but probably the better part of 4 days (just the papery part). That’s pretty unusual for a smallish piece. Of course, I had a couple other things I was working on during that time too, so it’s tough to say. But definitely longer than I expected it to. Some pieces are like that.
Bridget, Roger and Martha - Giant-sized Thank you! I will continue trying to be worthy of the high praise.
Daisy - Yeah, it took me ages to figure out about the short-tailed cats. Nobody wanted to tell me the truth. I just got a bunch of non-answers. Superstition is so weird and funny.
August 19, 2008 at 1:45 pm
bakeneko
The stuff about the cutting of the tails is a folk myth….in Japan there really is a tendency for cats to have bobtails. Japan is source of one of two tailless cat breeds in the world; the other is the Isle of Man off the coast of England.
December 12, 2008 at 12:26 am
Christy
Hi Patrick,
You’ve been busy–lots of great work. The knot on the tail reminded me of the celtic knot you did with the beards of Loki and the goat.
Looks like things are going well for you. Hope you have another great year in 2009.