Some of you may wonder how I got started painting geisha. I began them in the 1970's, inspired by the work of American artist Masami Teraoka who, at that time, did some of the most beautiful geisha paintings ever. Since then, he has changed to a different style of painting, but for me, my inspiration was in his early paintings which looked just like woodblock prints. So, in the 1970's, I began painting geishas, but quit in the 80's to study European painting. But, recently when looking at some of my old paintings, I decided to re-explore this old theme realizing the whole idea could be taken further. Look at Masami's early peices at his site: www.lava.net/~artbeat/index2.html
I have always loved past cultures with highly stylish, decadent, and intelligent women who were able to cultivate their own power, often existing in societies that did not grant women a lot of freedom. My favorite historical periods are always times of high style and refined aesthetics. The "Floating World" of Japan or the Rococco period in European history are two good examples really stylish periods in art.