Nihonga

A four-time college entry challenger finds the sparkle of a dedicated person – Interview with Nihonga artist Kazusa Anazawa

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Interview with Nihonga artist, Kazusa Anazawa. Please enjoy reading this interview by the FFD editorial team! Interview with Nihonga artist Kazusa Anazawa Discovering the joy of drawings through Leo Lionni’s Little Blue and Little Yellow. Thank you for your time today. Can you tell me about your first encounter with drawing? I’ve been drawing pictures since my preschool days. Of course, back then I was drawing with crayons, not doing Nihonga paintings. Why did you start drawing? I’m not sure if it was something that made me start drawing, but one day, my mother bought me a picture book by Leo Lionni, titled Ao-kun to Kiiro-chan (Little Blue and Little … Read more

The Cedar tree is like a grandfather to me, it’s why I paint trees – Interview with Nihonga artist Masami Shitara (part 2)

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Interview with Nihonga artist, Masami Shitara. Please enjoy reading part 2 of this interview by the FFD editorial team! Interview with Nihonga artist Masami Shitara (part 2) Setback at the first solo exhibition What were you working on after moving to Tokyo? I immediately started working at an art supply store inside an art college prep school in Ikebukuro. The people working there were all aspiring artists, and more or less in the same boat as me. It was easy to make friends there, and I really enjoyed discussing art and painting with my colleagues. Soon after turning 24, I started bringing my portfolio to art galleries. Once I found … Read more

The Cedar tree is like a grandfather to me, it’s why I paint trees – Interview with Nihonga artist Masami Shitara (part 3)

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Interview with Nihonga artist, Masami Shitara. Please enjoy reading part 3 of this interview by the FFD editorial team! Interview with Nihonga artist Masami Shitara (part 3) Working at the bottom of the ladder What kind of jobs did you have after you finished the charity exhibition? Once my three-year contract at the art supply store ended, I had to look for another job. I realized that as long as I could paint on my own time, I didn’t need to be too picky about my day job. I looked for a job with a lot of time off and good pay, and decided to work at the local dentist’s … Read more