From the Bamboo Forests of the Night

size: 8 x 10 inches
medium: cut paper on board
private collection

Good old William Blake knew what he was talking about. Entangled in the vines and bamboo of the shadowy forest, no other animal has quite the same combination of feline grace and stealthy, coiled threat as the tiger.

虎視眈々 (koshitantan) is a yojijukugo, a Japanese idiom made up of four kanji. In this case, 虎 (ko)=tiger; 視 (shi)=eye or gaze, and 眈々 (tantan; the second character repeats the sound of the first) = to aim with ambition. Together, they mean to wait patiently while ambitiously keeping your eyes peeled for the opportunity to strike. That sure sounds like a tiger to me.

The tiger is the third animal in the Chinese (and Japanese) zodiac. I’m not sure why s/he didn’t just eat the mouse and the cow and grab first place. This particular tiger is also the second preview from The Way of Flow running from December 4, 2009 – January 2, 2010 at C.A.V.E. Gallery, Venice, CA.