Chiho Iwase won the Watercolour Award in Jackson’s Art Prize this year with her work In the Sacred Hill. In this interview, she discusses starting out in sculpture, the reassurance of drawing with pencil, and getting inspired by funny trees.
Above image: Colour test
In the Sacred Hill, 2024
Chiho Iwase
Tempera on panel, 25 x 20 cm | 9.8 x 7.8 in
Josephine: Could you tell us about your artistic background?
Chiho: I studied drawing and painting in Japan when I was a teenager and I was passionate about practicing pencil drawing. My teachers gave me guidance to explore various expressions rather than just taught me techniques. I pursued the skills of detailed depictions and gentle gradations of shade that have been developed in my painting as well.
I was going to study painting in Chelsea College of Arts, but I decided to take a sculpture course to expand my perspective. I was interested in sculptors’ viewpoints and how they develop their ideas. I was really into mould making and casting when I was a student and this led me to my interest in a variety of materials. The growth of my interest in material properties might be one of the reasons why I was going to try different binders in painting later on.
After I graduated from Chelsea College, I kept making sculptures as well as started painting again. I worked on acrylic painting but I thought I should have explored ancient binders that could be suitable for my painting style. I liked vibrant colours, matte textures and the simplicity of tempera as the ingredients of the binder are only egg yolk, vinegar and water. It wasn’t easy to master the skills of egg tempera painting. I tested various ways of painting techniques and tried different brushes. I remember that I often visited the National Gallery’s Pre-Renaissance painting area and gazed at the tempera paintings to learn the techniques.
The residency program ‘Back to Basics’ at Arteles in Finland 2019 was a great opportunity for me to focus on tempera painting skills and the theme of Animism. ‘The Arms Talk’ is one of the tempera paintings I created during the residency. In this painting, I used ground charcoal from a bonfire with an egg yolk binder. Since then, my works have centred on tempera painting and pencil drawing with the subject of unseen spirits of nature and unspoken words that nature expresses.
Work table
Josephine: What does a typical working day in the studio look like for you? Do you have any important routines or rituals?
Chiho: When I work with tempera painting, the first thing to do in the studio is cracking an egg. I carefully separate the egg yolk from white, and pierce the skin of the yolk. This is the beginning of all the magical things happening.
Josephine: Which materials or tools could you not live without?
Chiho: The collection of my Staedtler pencils. Pencil drawing always directs me to great ideas and expressions. Even when I am painting, I have my pencil set by my side and I draw in my sketchbook to reassure myself. Somehow, shading in black and white can give me a tip of layering colours.
Pencil Drawing for In the Sacred Hill
Josephine: What are the stages of your work on a painting? Do you make drafts?
Chiho: It usually begins when I get inspired by landscapes, sky or funny trees. I make a note of my ideas for painting along with sketches. I also photograph while considering the composition of the painting. I tend to write down my first impression of the landscape, my ideas behind it, what the landscape reminds me of, how the landscape is connected with my thoughts, my imaginative story in the landscape, and plans of textures and colours in the painting.
The process of tempera painting has to be well planned. I continue drawing to decide a composition and testing colours until I become confident of my plan. I occasionally use Photoshop to explore possible ranges of colours and how I layer colours in my painting.
A wood board is prepared with my hand made gesso and I start drawing on the board. The drawing is a key to decide the composition. Finally, I paint with dry pigments and an egg yolk binder. I like to plan the details of processes and I do enjoy the moment when things don’t go as planned because this is the moment I find unexpected expressions. I build up layers to archive rich and intense colours but numbers of layers vary according to the texture I am looking for. For example, some parts of my painting ‘Waving in Snow’ just have a thin layer of white pigment and the colour of the gesso can be seen. In another painting ‘Fallen Tree’, I painted many layers of pigments to express the energetic consistency of the trees.
I carefully observe colours when pigments dry because the colours can change during the drying process. Tempera touch-dries within minutes although it takes much longer to fully cure to paint another layer, so I can only paint a few layers a day. I need to be very patient and it usually takes more than 6 months to finish one painting.
Variety of dry pigments
Josephine: Do you regularly draw or keep a sketchbook? If so, how does this inform your work?
Chiho: I keep a sketchbook to draw and write whatever comes up in my mind. My daily drawing doesn’t usually come out directly in my final work, but it affects my painting as an element of my fundamental thoughts. For example, the creature on the left In the Sacred Hill was originally a rock but it transformed to something with legs based on my drawing about anthropomorphized objects.
Chiho in the studio
Josephine: Have you ever had a period of stagnation in creativity? If so, what helped you overcome it?
Chiho: I think I was struggling to bring my ideas into sculpture after graduating from college and that was the time that I focused on painting again. I noticed that my ideas and my expressions might go well in painting. It took me a while to have my painter’s brain back but I made the right decision.
The Arms Talk, 2019
Chiho Iwase
Charcoal and Egg Tempera on paper, 30 x 25 cm | 12 x 10 in
Josephine: Are there any specific artists or mentors who have inspired you?
Chiho: Jan Van Eyck’s exceptional attention to detail and extremely precise depictions always inspire me. Jakuchu Ito is another artist that I was strongly influenced by. His intense observation of animals and flowers is reflected in his painting as lively depictions and vibrant colours.
Chiho Drawing in the studio
Josephine: Why did this piece feel like the right one to submit? What sets it apart from the rest of your work?
Chiho: Simply this was the best of my paintings so far. In this work, the result of my studies in both Western and Japanese painting techniques is reflected and I successfully express my thoughts about Animism.
Waving in Snow, 2022
Chiho Iwase
Egg Tempera on Board, 42 x 32 cm | 16.5 x 12.5 in
Josephine: How did it feel to move through the stages in the competition and win the Watercolour Award?
Chiho: I was very impressed by all of the longlisted paintings as they all have unique qualities, so I was pleasantly surprised when I won the prize. It really made me confident and motivated me.
Materials for hand-made gesso
Josephine: What were you thinking about or exploring at the time you painted In the Sacred Hill? What inspired it, and how did it come to be?
Chiho: In terms of techniques, I focused on the variety of brushworks when layering colours and adding a sort of abstract element in realistic depictions to make my tempera techniques distinctive.
The characteristic and history of the place, Kumano in Japan, gave me great inspiration and my vivid memories of visiting Kumano turned into the colours and textures in the painting.
Examination of colours for In the Sacred Hill
Josephine: Everything in In the Sacred Hill looks alive – from the grasses to the sky. Is this an effect you’ve intentionally used to express the animism in Kumano, and what techniques or marks did you employ to achieve this?
Chiho: That is exactly what I was trying to achieve. My intention was depicting everything including the background having a soul. I carefully chose the colours, used pigments for Japanese painting and layered colours using traditional tempera painting techniques. I picked the composition to give a feeling of stillness in the landscape as well as drew the movements of every leaf to express the hidden energy of the plants.
Fallen Trees, 2023
Chiho Iwase
Egg Tempera on Board, 30 x 38 cm | 12 x 15 in
Josephine: Are there any new techniques or ideas you’re excited to explore using the materials from your Schmincke prize?
Chiho: I am excited about Schmincke’s Liquid Charcoal & Liquid Earth. Those can harmonise with my Japanese pigments and pencil drawing. I’m thinking of using those for my recent projects in the theme of the Five Elements in Taoism philosophy.
Josephine: What’s coming up next for you?
Chiho: I keep exploring a wide range of techniques in painting and researching materials and pigments. I’m also working on painting and drawing on sculptures made by plaster. This will be a different approach to painting and I am excited to see how my sculpture making skills meet my painting techniques.
Follow Chiho on Instagram
Visit Chiho’s website
Further Reading
Meet Eleanor Johnson, Winner of Jackson’s Art Prize 2025
Jackson’s Art Prize 2025 Exhibition at Affordable Art Fair
How We Collaborate With Artists
Expert Advice on Making Your Way as an Artist
The post Chiho Iwase: Unexpected Expressions appeared first on Jackson's Art Blog.
Trending Products
