Every day in 2017 I drew in a Moleskine Japanese (Accordion Fold) Album (pocket size) with the goal of completing one continuous drawing all year. I filled up nearly six complete sketchbooks, completing a drawing that is 5.5 inches high and more than 600 inches wide. Now, what do I do with it?
The name "Mokumokuren" literally means "many eyes" or "continuous eyes". The Mokumokuren is considered by the Japanese to be one of the traditional inhabitants of haunted houses.
The only way to remove the spirit from the wall is to patch up the holes in it.
Imperfect Lines, Honest Presence
This sketch is not perfect—and that’s exactly why it’s alive. The bold figure, the dissolving hat, the tilted chair: all of it feels unfinished, fleeting, caught in motion. It’s what the Japanese call wabi-sabi—finding beauty in the imperfect, the impermanent, the incomplete.
But there’s something deeper here too. A quick sketch is not just what the eye records. It’s what the soul permits. To draw without fixing, without polishing, is to admit the world will not hold still for us. Life slips past. The lines break off. And yet, somehow, the essence remains.
When you sketch this way, you are not the master of the moment—you are its guest. The pencil does not carve permanence; it pays attention. The act of drawing becomes an act of being present, of honoring what is already vanishing.
So here’s a challenge: grab a pencil and sketch someone near you in sixty seconds. Do not erase. Do not perfect. Let the lines falter. When you finish, ask yourself: What truth did the imperfection reveal?
Perhaps presence itself is the real art.
A vibrant exploration of color and line, this piece captures the ephemeral beauty of red plum blossoms in a textured, contemporary sketch style. Perfect for those who appreciate the intersection of traditional botanical themes and modern, expressive artistry.
Old drawing that I had contributed to a charity art book for Japanese tsunami relief efforts. Feel free to follow my facebook for additional updates! http://www.facebook.com/sonialaiart
Well, this is my birthday present for Adit who recently upload several cooking video on youtube (called FOOD PAPA). And now I know that I love illustrating food.
Flying Robot in the Sky, watercolor. I used my new Holbein paints. (I love them.) Drawn with a Pilot Falcon SEF using Platinum Carbon Black. A trifecta of Japanese paint, pen, and ink.
This was drawn with a Japanese fountain pen, Japanese ink, and painted with Japanese watercolor. To be specific - I used Holbein watercolor and Platinum Carbon Black in a Pilot Falcon. This trio is perfect for me.
A little Urban Sketch of Setagaya Park, a Japanese garden with a peaceful pond, filled with koi in Vienna, Austria. I used the Derwent Line & Wash Paint Pan Set.
I've always found it so Satisfying to draw Dragons! I love dragons, whether it's for a personal project or a clean wok, Dragons are the subject I enjoy the most and love to explore in so many ways ♥
This was an illustration for a Traditional Action Gamepad with its big buttons, this work is so old, and I improved a lot after it, but its simplicity remains lovely to me and maybe I will remake it with my improvement level right now and make a comparison.
Julia Ota, a Korean girl who was brought back to Japan during the Imjin Wars (1592-1598). She was adopted by one of the Japanese commanders, Konishi Yukinaga, and was baptized as a Christian in 1596. She eventually became a lady-in-waiting to Tokugawa Ieyasu, but was later exiled to Izu Islands for refusing to recant her faith. Wherever she went, she became admired for her charity and evangelism, and she was revered as divinity on the islands up after her death up to the 20th century.
