Vincent Van Gogh. The Yellow House, 1888.
summer morning
the sky hangs heavy today
vibrant yellow house
vibrant yellow house
people mull in the streets
small town rhythm
© G.s.k. ‘15
The Great Bridge. Hiroshige (L) & Van Gogh (R)
in driving rain
crossing a great bridge
between cultures
© G.s.k. ‘15
Vincent Van Gogh. Langlois Bridge at Arles with Women Washing, 1888. Wikimedia.
near the draw bridge
old boat and washing women
water reflections
the old art teacher should blush
that’s how you paint reflections!
§§
along the canal
a sunken boat languishes
no fishing today
no fishing today
down by the canal women
wash shirts and sheets
© G.s.k. ‘15
About the tanka … many, many years ago in a land far to the north (Alaska) lived a young girl who wanted to learn to paint. She hadn’t encountered the great impressionist movement yet and in fact she wanted to learn how to paint illustrations …. water colours with pen and ink.
Among the chosen subjects for High School that year was ART … but soon she discovered that had no talent for painting, this is how it happened that she discovered this; the teacher put up a bottle, a silver mug and fruit telling the students to paint the picture in water-colour … alas … as a first project this was tragic for her. She knew how to draw, but not how to use a paint brush … and reflections … how do you paint reflections! Her reflections looked something like Van Gogh’s reflections. Her teacher ridiculed her work in front of the class … Years and years later she became aware of impressionism and fell in love with the movement, but rarely ever touched a brush again. However she did wonder if Van Gogh perhaps had a teacher like her old art teacher.
Here are some great haiku from today’s Carp Diem Haiku Kai’s Time Machine Prompt hosted by Paloma:
the yellow house
a sturdy rock in a man’s life –
the cry of a child
the cry of a child
seeing the rainbow for the first time
‘I want to cross that’
© Chèvrefeuille
morning washing –
the scent of yellow grass
clinging to my hem
long into morning –
the scent of mud and green things
baked on yellow stones
© Paloma
Bastet and Sekhmet's Library 
I really enjoyed your haiku and tanka. That story about that student touched me, cara. How often we give up on passions by critics of narrow mindedness
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True … thank heavens for digital cameras and apps 😉 And the satisfaction of knowing that she was an idiot.
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How cruel that teacher was —- watercolor is a b*tch to work with — and to try to do reflections right away? Horrible. Some folks go a whole life time without learning how to capture them. As they say around here, that woman ought to have been “slapped upside the head”. Sheesh.
Awesome series of haiku here — a tribute to Vincent and Hiroshige — and so many wonderful haiku moments. I loved the humor in realizing that there’s no fishing today!!!
[hugs]
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Thanks dear … she had a mission … I’m really happy you enjoyed the haiku … those were such enchanting painting!
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Sounds like she never should have been teaching — ugh!
Loved the haiku.
I decided to write about the Hiroshige/Van Gogh “sudden burst” paintings. A bit of a difficult write, that one. o.O But I didn’t have a third haiku about the washerwomen/ bridge, LOL!
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Well you know how that can be .. she was rather old and I think probably frustrated … at the time though I hated her guts 😉 That was a really touching post you wrote!
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Thanks 🙂
She sounds a bit like my kiddo’s math teacher from last year. Son swears that the man hates kids. He was a year or two away from retirement, and very sarcastic and nasty to everyone – insulting too. But perhaps 40 years in the public school system does that to math teachers!?!
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I had a piano teacher who would rap my knuckles with a ruler when I played the wrong note. Perhaps no surprise…I don’t play the piano anymore.
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I think there might be something in what you say about that … nothing like a rap on the knuckles to cool your passion.
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Bad teachers have a stronger influence on children than good teachers seem to… 😦
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Often … but not always … I had a couple of really great teachers who influenced me in 1) writing and 2) public speaking. Not to speak of a few just great human beings.
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Water-color is the most difficult medium. Problems in correcting mistakes especially. One must already have some ideas before commencing. Whereas for others the title is decided when it is completed. Great set of haiku Georgia!
Hank
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Thanks Hank … glad you liked the haiku … and I’ve since learnt to use water colours maybe to spite the old teacher, who knows.
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Is it really necessary to learn all the “rules” before one begins to break them. Give it a try again It is only too late if you are in a coffin.
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True very true and since then a lot of water has gone under the bridge and I’ve gone back to water colors quite often .. thanks for your lovely comment!
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What a story … I am so happy that I could do anything I wanted to do … as I discovered haiku I couldn’t resist the urge to write/compose them and once get them published. Well … those things have happened and I am glad that they (my teachers, parents and friends) urged me to try to bring my dreams come true.
Great post and wonderful haiku, but your tanka … is just a gem, a little diamond.
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It’s really wonderful to have a solid backing in our lives, for the most part I’ve been lucky that way also … but there have been notable exceptions and this art teacher was one. Fortunately I did have a family that backed me up and I moved on. I’m so happy you enjoyed the tanka … I do love them very much, I was terribly sorry to have missed your tanka shrine .. I’d intended to write yesterday, but alas it was not to be.
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That first one extra special in this nice post
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Thanks so much Hamish …
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