Hideko Pentony
I’m living my childhood dream, to live by the water and paint!
I was born in a very small town called Nemuro, Hokkaido, the most easterly point of the north Island of Japan, where in winter ice packed sea divides our land from the Kurile Island now belonging to Russia. As a child, I loved to draw and paint with my crayons & water colours anything from ripples in puddles to fishing boats full of colourful good luck flags, or crispy cold day’s sunset as a huge orange sun sank beneath the horizon lighting up everything including the unfriendly leaden sea.
In high school I joined the art club where I learned a little bit of oil painting and charcoal drawing, spending hours after classes at the school’s art room sketching the life size plaster figures. I continued to paint all the things around me as my family moved south and inland, to Nagano on the main Island, where the high mountain of Japan Alps look down upon crystal clear streams and I saw fruits ripening on tree blanches for the first time in my life.
I wasn’t sure if I had what it took to be an artist, to make a living from painting and came to the conclusion, that I would be happy if one day I could have a small house by the water where I could paint.
I worked as an English/Japanese translator and interpreter most of my time in Japan and spent a short time in Sri Lanka.
In 1997 my husband returned from overseas posting and I migrated to Australia.
For the next 20 years, we ran a very successful and demanding certified organic farm outside of ACT, growing vegetables and fruits commercially, producing free range eggs and duck eggs, looking after sheep and lambs, cattle, pigs so on, I enjoyed all aspects of Australian farm life.
It seems farming has nothing to do with Art but it taught me a lot that I can relate to when I’m working on my paintings, most of all to have patience, and to enjoy the process as much as the result, knowing all these many small steps will bring me to the goal.
While considering taking up painting again upon retirement from farming, I discovered the beauty of soft pastel, texture, vibrant colours and friendly nature. Now I live by the water and paint.
Roses 2
Winter Hues Wallaroo 2
Wave Watcher
Waves 2
Grandfathers Gully 2
Old Man and the Sea
Rocks and Pebbles at Lilli Pilli 2
Colours of Autumn 1
