It’s only his hobby, but this grandpa is good enough to become a professional.
Japanese Twitter has taken it upon itself to expound on the talents of the country’s grandparents, and we are all about it. Skilled musicians, aspiring linguists, and hardcore gamers are just some of the talented elderly citizens who have recently been celebrated on Twitter, and for good reason. They’re good at what they do!
Just like Twitter user Tsume (@raw_ttkn)’s grandpa, whose beautiful ink paintings are so good that they look like they’ve been in the ceiling of Zushouin Temple in Izunokuni, Shizuoka, forever, even though they were only recently donated.
▼ “My grandfather’s ink paintings, which he does as a hobby, were donated to a local temple, and they’ve become beautiful ceiling art, so please take a look.”
祖父が趣味で描いた墨絵が近くのお寺に寄贈されて、素晴らしい天井画になったので見て欲しい pic.twitter.com/8JsQbzFKNv
— つめ (@raw_ttkn) February 1, 2019
The paintings, of which there are at least six dozen, are all painted with ink on gold backgrounds and feature different kinds of flowers and seasonal plants. There are chrysanthemums, sunflowers, maple leaves, roses, and of course cherry blossoms, among many others, and each one is beautifully luminescent in whites and grays in its own square of the gilded ceiling.
Tsume’s grandfather has also painted numerous other lovely works of art in ink as well, which were recently on display in a solo exhibition near the man’s hometown. All of these paintings are made with ink on white paper, using various levels of thickness in the ink to get the desired shades of gray and black.
▼ Especially of note is the second image of the piano, which Tsume’s grandfather painted after hearing the story of a kamikaze pilot who loved to play the piano.
祖父の他の作品も見て下さい…!
— つめ (@raw_ttkn) February 3, 2019
色紙に、墨の濃淡のみで描いています。
1:牡丹
2:ピアノの話…ピアノが好きだった青年が、特攻隊に行く話を聞き描いたそうです
3:酒の精…酒の酵母を顕微鏡で見た時のもの。元々祖父は酵母の研究をしてました。
4:地元でセルフ個展をした時の様子 pic.twitter.com/fy3Yskw757
Japanese Twitter was, naturally, smitten with this grandfather’s work, and responses to Tsume’s tweets were unanimous in praise for the gentleman’s talent:
“It’s so beautiful that I wouldn’t be surprised if they were designated as national treasures.”
“I’d love to visit that temple! It’s just so beautiful!”
“Amazing!”
“Gorgeous flower ceiling! The people who visit that temple will be happy.”
“That’s not the level of a hobby. It’s really beautiful!”
“‘Fantastic!’ is what I thought right away. I want to see it in real life.”
Add us to this grandpa’s list of fans, because those are some truly outstanding pieces. We’re just as impressed with his monochrome paintings as we were with this granny’s colorful landscapes, and that’s really saying something.
Source: Twitter/@raw_ttkn via Togetch
Featured Image: Twitter/@raw_ttkn

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