The Haiku Foundation honors the work of contemporary masters of the dual art of haiga: visual image wedded to haiku. This month’s featured artist is Ron C. Moss.
Ron is a visual artist and poet from Tasmania, Australia. His haiku and related genres have won many international prizes and he has been published in numerous journals and anthologies including, Haiku in English: The First Hundred Years (ed. Jim Kacian et al., W. W. Norton & Company) and Where the River Goes: The Nature Tradition in English-Language Haiku (ed. Allan Burns, Snapshot Press). Ron won the prestigious Seashell Game in 2011 for his haiku “starry night”. Ron is a recipient of The Touchstone Awards for Individual Poems 2013 and The Touchstone Distinguished Books Award 2014 for his first collection, The Bone Carver (Snapshot Press). He is resident artist for the online journal A Hundred Gourds and also the annual Muttering Thunder. Ron is well known for his haiga paintings, illustration and design, and is an award-winning photographer.
bloodwood moon
text: bloodwood moon/a starving dingo paces/the rain shadow media: original watercolour and design elements date of execution: 2011 artist’s comment: from original watercolour with background design elements from part of the painting
caramel skies
text: caramel skies/a sandcastle leans/with the tide media: original photographs, image making date of execution: 2008 artist’s comment: photographs blended and toned in Photoshop using multiple techniques
curling to sleep
text: curling to sleep/the day’s miles/again in my bones media: watercolour, calligraphy and design date of execution: 2011 artist’s comment: from original watercolour with background design elements
days down under
text: days down under/the scent of gum nuts/in summer rain media: original photo and design elements including captured textures and toning date of execution: 2004 artist’s comment: photographed on a shiny laptop lid with textures added
deep in the mountains
text: deep in the mountains the road I’m lost on media: original photograph with design elements date of execution: 2014 artist’s comment: B&W Conversion with artist’s seal and font on a white frame for maximum gallery feel
first light
text: first light/a hawk-dragonfly/beads with dew media: sumi-e ink on paper date of execution: 2006 artist’s comment: very early sumi-e painting
foraging for apples
text: foraging for apples the taste of the moon media: pencil drawing and mixed media date of execution: 2015 artist’s comment: drawing digitised and processed with various textures, toning and glass plate scans
homecoming
text: homecoming/hands held together/in a deep bow media: original photograph with design elements date of execution: 2010 artist’s comment: very enjoyable presentation elements , backgrounds were created from brushed ink abstracts. From the series “Mindfulness In Monochrome”
lost on a journey
text: lost on a journey . . ./sliding my toes over/the curves of dark stone media: original photo and design date of execution: 2010 artist’s comment: macro photography with font on surrounding frame with paper elements
moon drift
text: heavy seas/out of a day moon/a diving tern media: watercolour, calligraphy and design date of execution: 2009 artist’s comment: original watercolour with design elements including the image digitised for a background
moonrise
text: moonrise . . ./the last of me/letting go media: original watercolour and design elements date of execution: 2015 artist’s comment: watercolour and ink on a scroll
old windmill blades
text: old windmill blades sweep past a shooting star media: pencil drawing and mixed media date of execution: 2015 artist’s comment: drawing digitised and processed with various textures, toning and glass plate scans
passing by
text: passing by/a single thought/in autumn gold media: original photograph with design elements date of execution: 2009 artist’s comment: Early morning photography on a foggy river in Tasmania. From the series “Slow Light”
sitting quietly
text: sitting quietly . . ./sky and mountain/for a seat media: original watercolour date of execution: 2009 artist’s comment: large brush watercolour using wet on wet technique
starry night
text: starry night/what’s left of my life/is enough media: pencil drawing inverted to a negative date of execution: 2015 artist’s comment: a simple doodle . . .
the first dip
text: the first dip/of my paddle/winter’s end media: original photo and design elements date of execution: 2006 artist’s comment: original photo processed as “high key” to reveal an ink-like image
the wind’s chill
text: the wind’s chill/whitening/the cracks media: original photograph with design elements date of execution: 2010 artist’s comment: very enjoyable presentation elements , backgrounds were created from brushed ink abstracts. From the series “Mindfulness In Monochrome”
tied to the shore
text: tied to the shore/each thread/of sunlight media: original photograph with design elements date of execution: 2009 artist’s comment: Early morning photography on a foggy river in Tasmania. From the series “Slow Light
tired of this world
text: tired of this world . . ./suddenly moonlight/through my window media: original pencil drawing with calligraphy date of execution: 2005 artist’s comment: doodle-like pencil drawing – very enjoyable result
tomatoes ripen
text: tomatoes ripen/in summer heat . . ./skin on skin media: original photograph with design elements date of execution: 2013 artist’s comment: pushing design elements with strong central composition and colour
valley mist
text: valley mist/running my finger over/the curve of a twig media: original photo and design elements date of execution: 2004 artist’s comment: shape and texture capture with computer font on a surrounding frame
waiting
text: waiting /for a red moon/the glitter of frost media: watercolour, calligraphy and design date of execution: 2011 artist’s comment: from original watercolour with background design elements including artist’s seal
walking until
text: walking until there’s only sky glow media: original photograph and textures date of execution: 2014 artist’s comment: capture processed with iPad apps
waning moon
text: waning moon/the heaviness/in a dying moth’s wing media: original photograph with design elements date of execution: 2009 artist’s comment: Macro photography on textured paper
wing beats
text: wing beats/the scent of jasmine/in paper skies media: original photograph with design elements date of execution: 2013 artist’s comment: black and silver theme
winter beach
text: winter beach a wave breaks white on a long grey shore media: original photograph with design elements date of execution: 2014 artist’s comment: B&W Conversion with artist’s seal and font on a white frame for maximum gallery feel
years of drought
text: years of drought the taste of rust on my fork media: original photo and design elements including captured rust textures, toning and a glass plate frame date of execution: 2008 artist’s comment: interesting mix of photographic elements to create a Wyeth-like farm scene