My wife introduced me to the work of Joichi Hoshi a Japanese woodblock print artist. She had seen his work while teaching in Japan and fell in love with it. I too was amazed by his studies of trees which clearly illustrate his intricate and elaborate compositions while using silver and gold leaf to eluminate his work. The artist passed away in 1979 and his work is now highly collectable.
To see more of Joichi work visit the following website.
http://pinterest.com/WandaMarie1/artists-joichi-hoshi/