Red Step Gallery--Don Haggerty, The Mysterious Light

Text Box: The Mysterious Light
"Twenty yards from the beach, she knelt to study the mysterious light."
from The Adventures of Katimoto
Artist: Don Haggerty

Don Haggerty The Mysterious Light

The Mysterious Light--from The Adventures of Katimoto began as a barely perceptible spark of inspiration ignited by a page torn from a magazine. It continued to grow through a fateful encounter with a print by Suzuki Harunobu titled 'Girl on Her Way to the Shinto Shrine on a Stormy Night'.

An ensuing treasure hunt turned up a fine Japanese umbrella, a lantern...and a kimono. Through an Internet hunt, we located Miki Makiya, proprietor of Kotobuki based in Seattle, who was hired to perform a ritual kimono dressing, including makeup and hair. Kathy Deraitus--my wife, ready model and muse--quickly transformed into Katimoto (an obscure but real surname--to know its real roots, and those of the heroine, you’ll have to read the book), and thus began the adventure.

Kathy modeled...and I painted. From inspiration to canvas, the story fell into place--or at least the first episode.

Finally, from raw boards of mahogany and maple, Brian Haggerty (my son) crafted the storybook frame and attached the brass title plaque to complete Katimoto's first adventure.

And what a grand adventure it was!

-- Don Haggerty