March 2019 updates

March flew by while everyone in our little family was sick at one point. The cold we all caught was mild in the beginning, but was very persistent and we felt like we were not well for a long, long time.

There were some good things, too, though.

Some of my original works are now released for purchase at a gallery in Tokyo.
Please click the link below and scroll down:
https://knapford.com/

They have been successfully selling collectible and vintage posters, limited edition prints, and now expanding their range with some original artwork — with my art! I think my paintings are the first originals they carry :)

I also released some additions to my Eastern zodiac print series at my Etsy shop:
https://www.etsy.com/shop/yorikoNewYork

These are giclée prints, professionally printed by an independent printshop in PA. Aren't the colors gorgeous? 8"x10", archival and ready to be framed!

Please stay tuned for other signs of the zodiac to be released, hopefully soon.

Shop Window at DaVinci Artist Supply in Chelsea: Now – Feb. 24

Happy New Year! ... It's late, but better than never.

For email/SNS new year greetings, I made this watercolor of running boars as it is the year of the boar (the pig in China), out of the twelve Asian zodiac signs.

This led me to design the shop window of DaVinci Artist Supply—a local art supply store I frequent because I love their range and the helpful staff—for their Winter Back to School Sale, which has been quite exciting.

Installation complete!
Yay!

If you are in the Chelsea area between now–February 24, please stop by and take a look!
DaVinci is located at:

132 W 21st Street

New York, New York 10011

Map

Mark and Kevin: two of the many nice people at DaVinci's!
Kevin is an illustrator.

A big thank you to Mark, who is in charge of marketing/promotion/design at the shop, who invited me and helped me throughout this process! He and I became friends last year or so while chatting about Japan and kendo. (I used to practice kendo waaay back when.) He is also a swordsman at Kenzen Institute who obtains the forth dan, and a talented representational painter. You can take a look at his work on his Facebook.

Window lit up in the twilight.
The lit-up snow drifts are Mark's idea. Beautiful.
These cutouts are available for sale.

Group Show at the Consulate General of Japan in New York

I will be showing one of my paintings alongside a group of wonderful local artists at a gallery inside the Consulate General of Japan in New York from Dec. 4-19. If you're in Midtown, please stop by!

"LOVE, FAMILY and FRIENDS"

December 4 – 19, 2018

CONSULATE GENERAL OF JAPAN IN NY | JIC GALLERY

299 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10171

18th Floor

(between 48 St and 49 St)

Hours: M-F  9:30am-  4pm

Closed Saturdays and Sundays

There will be no reception as it's inside the consulate (those uptight Japanese!), but friends, if you let me know you are coming, I'll try meeting you there. 

Group Show in Union Square

I will have a few new paintings in a group show in Union Square next month.

This year, a textile exhibition—of newly innovated sustainable fabric made from Kudzu plant—will be held by a group of students from Tama Art University (Tokyo, Japan; the art school I attended before coming to the US) at the same time.

If you are in the area, please stop by to see the show!
There will be some live music at the opening as well :)

Home Away From Home XIV 

October 22 – November 3, 2018

Opening reception: Thursday, October 25 from 7-9pm

TENRI GALLERY  map

43A West 13th Street, New York

Hours: M-Th 12-6, Sat: 12-3, Closed Fri + Sun

My drawings from MET visits

This month, I've been going to the MET every week to polish up my observational drawing skills. I like drawing people thus drawing from statues is a great practice. The MET has a vast collection from all over the world and is a perfect place to do that.

Posting some of the drawings here:

Mourning Virgin from a Crucifixion Group; 1450-75; France

The Buddha
Statue from South India, ca. 3rd century

Bather
Marble sculpture by Jean-Antoine Houdon, 1782

I am excited that Sam, my good friend and one of the most talented & skilled artists I know, will be joining me to draw next time! We went to the MET yesterday to see the Heavenly Bodies exhibit together and it was so much fun. I love Sam's attention to details and her passion to study the craftsmanship. And I can never get enough of her charming British accent and her unique sense of humor! You can see Sam's amazing portfolio here.

Sam & me at the Central Park after a long walk in the museum.

Commission | Family Portrait for Anniversary

This was a commission I turned in last month. The client wanted a family portrait to gift to his brother on his anniversary. So lucky to have this opportunity to paint this lovely family!

I had a limited number of reference photos as it was supposed to be a surprise (my client couldn't ask for too many of them without them feeling suspicious) so that was challenging. I made different sketches and decided to make it simple with just some pop of colors.

The client's brother posted a comment on Instagram(at the bottom of this post) how they loved this surprise. Always so fullfilling when you make your client happy :)

Work info

Size: about 40cm x 40 cm

Medium: colored pencils, gouache, gansai(Japanese watercolor in pans), walnut ink on paper.

Detail #1

Detail #2

Detail #3

Detail #4

Love the metallic frame Kyota chose!!

Watercolor for Sale @ DaVinci Artist Supply

A small watercolor of mine "The Bunny and the Sun" will be on view at my go-to art supply shop DaVinci Artist Supply in its Chelsea location, starting today through May 31st. They are featuring some new works by local artist under the theme "May Flowers". 

Please stop by and take a look at my work if you are in the neighborhood :)

It's also a great little shop for all your artistic needs; the people are kind &  helpful if you have questions!

May 9 - May 31

DaVinci Artist Supply

132 West 21st St (btw 6th & 7th Ave)
New York, NY 10011
tel: 212-871-0220

hours: 

Mon-Fri  8:45am-7pm
Sat-Sun  11am-6pm

Kaiju Big Battel in Queens

We finished another successful Kaiju show at La Boom in Sunnyside, Queens.

For those who doesn't know, Kaiju Big Battel is a monster fighting spectacle my partner Randy has been doing for 20 years. Randy also has been doing a fundraising show for NYC public schools since 2 years ago with a help from Tara Altebrando, my friend, a NYC parent, and a writer.

This time it was a fundraiser for three Queens charter schools: Our World Neighborhood Charter School, Academy of the City, and Growing Up Green! We donated 100 tickets to each school and tickets were sold out! That's 300 people right there and Randy also sold his own tickets to the public so we had about 700+ loud audience!

Big thanks to my friends Kazuki and Michelle for helping me with the merch table! You guys make the best team!!

Half-time dance show by kids from NYC schools.

With BFF Kazuki (left) and Michelle (right).
They both happen to be fashion designers.
I am a fashion designer magnet :)

Yoriko on The Big Issue Taiwan

My creative work is covered in a spread "Business Tomorrow" column in the January issue of The Big Issue Taiwan 大誌雜誌, that came out on Junuary 2nd!

The Big Issue started 20+ years ago in UK to support the homeless to their independency. I loved their cause & the plus: the Taiwan version is designed beautifully.

Please spread the news if you have friends in Taipei. The article is written by SF based writer Hui-Min Tsai, who found me through my Etsy shop. Big thank you to Hui-Min and editor Brian Huang for this wonderful article. 多謝。

Rei Kawakubo / Comme des Garçons: Art of the In-Between

メトロポリタン美術館で春から開催されている、川久保玲／コムデギャルソンの展示。9月4日でおしまいということで、友人のサムと一緒に平日火曜の朝一番で観てきた。

"Art of the In-Between"というタイトルが示す通り、しばしば対極とされているもの（自／他、存在／不在、事実／フィクション、戦争／平和等）をペアにしたテーマごと6〜7着の服がグループ別に、真っ白いギャラリーのような、青山のコムのショップも少し彷彿とさせる空間に展示されている。服はどれも強烈で、飾られているというよりもそこに「立っている」ような気配すらした。

日本特有の「間」や「無」等についてもパンフレットに説明があり、一昔前ならよほど東洋の文化や精神世界に興味のある極少数の欧米人以外には理解される事もなかったであろうコンセプトを題材に、かのメトロポリタン美術館で日本人の創作が展示されるようになったのは感慨深い。

ただ、結局「二極の中間」という表現でしか理解を得られないのは残念な気もする。二つの相反するものが一つのもの（人）の中に同時に存在すること、「間」は英語の"void"や単なる"space"ではなく「間」として存在することを日本人と同じ感覚で欧米人が理解するのには、まだまだ時間がかかるのかもしれない。しかし英語の構造や語彙を考えると、このタイトルは絶妙とも言えるし、日本文化に疎い人々が無形の日本的なコンセプトを理解するのには良いとっかかりになるに違いない。

日本のことばかり話したが、川久保玲の服はとても西洋的、いや西洋そのものだ。彼女のクリエーションはあくまでも「洋服」である。が、その洋服は東洋の精神と美意識を内包している。欧米のデザイナーが「日本」を取り入れる時、それはただ日本のデザインの表層をなぞったものに過ぎない。本質は「洋服」でそこに日本的な合わせの要素や着物風の柄を取り入れるのである。それは彼らは強固な「個」を持っており、それは他文化に触れたからといって、中々ゆるぐようなものでないのだ。しかし、日本人の精神構造は欧米人のそれとは違う。川久保は自分の中に西洋と東洋を同時に存在させることができ、これらはそれゆえに生まれたクリエーションだと思う。西洋の要素がベースになければ、NYのメットでの展示などは実現しなかったであろう。その東西の要素が並列にある融通無礙な表現は西洋人にはできない事で、それが異様でもあり、きっと見るものを惹きつけるのだ。

英語での論理的な説明も手伝って、川久保はこちらではコンセプチュアルなデザイナーという評判が主流だが、実際に見てとても感覚的な仕事だと個人的には思った。洋服の形に深い理解のある彼女だからこその遊び心が見え隠れしていた。そんな詩的な部分も感じ取っている欧米のジャーナリストもいるようで、こんな展示が今後の欧米社会にどんな影響を与えていくのかが楽しみである。

　　

 

新緑

天気のよい土曜日、ふと空を見上げたら、こんな景色が目に入った。
若々しい緑があまりにきれいで、家に帰ってすぐ筆をとり水彩で描いてみた。

描きながら、漫画を描きまくってた小学生の頃、シーンの変わり目にこういう画をよく描いたのを思い出した。その頃の少女漫画によく使われてた手法を真似したんだと思う。梢と空。日本の漫画や映画、絵巻物にしても、こういう一見ストーリーと全く関係ないような「間」が、いつも面白いと思っていた。それが全体に奥行きを生むというか。

そのせいかはわからないけど、私の絵にも空白が多いと思う。美術の先生によく「バックをちゃんと塗りなさい」と注意された。小さい時はただ大きな空白を塗るのが面倒くさかっただけだったと思うのだけど、大人になってからは作ったばかりの下地や紙自体の白がとてもきれいに思えて、それを残しておきたいという気持ちがする事も多い。作品は自分が上に描いたものだけでなく、素材を含めてその物全体だといつも思っている。

New Website

I don't know if I've announced it here, so I will: I have re-designed my website. I use Wix and it makes it so much easier to customize stuff around! Thanks Wix!

Screenshot of my home page.
What do you think?

I love the "drag-and-drop" feature – you can be pretty intuitive. I am curious what you use for your website? I've heard Wordpress is pretty good, too...

Since I switched to Wix, I've been pretty good at updating my website with new work, but I update my Instagram account the most with new sketches and finished visuals (with bits of my daily life), so please follow me there.

If you know friends who loves art, illustration, who are art directors or agents, please spread the words by letting them know the link to my site! 

https://www.yorikony.com/

xo

Happy International Women's Day!

Happy International Women's Day!

I've shared this a while ago in Instagram & Facebook, but to honor this day as a female illustrator/artist, I'd like to share it again:

womenwhodraw.com

Women Who Draw, an online directory of women illustrators in an effort to increase the visibility of female illustrators, with an emphasis on illustrators of color, LBTQ+, and other minority groups. What is great about it is ran by a small group of women illustrators to support other women in the industry. BBC wrote an article here.

They also have Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter accounts, so if you want to be inspired by great art, follow them in support of female artists!

And yes, I am listed as one of them :)

I am so excited to be listed amongst amazing artists.

And some amazing women in my real life. Below is one of them I hang out pre-Women's Day — Yuko — my buddy from the 1st grade!

Even now we are both middle-aged,
we still feel like 6-year-olds! (Uh-oh)

ばばの命日

5 years ago today, my grandma passed away. She was not what you think of an old lady. She was energetic, fashionable, and walked faster than anyone (I'll add that she always RAN up stairs). She taught wood-carving and she loved art.

I was painting this bird picture when my mom reminded me about the day. Then I started to remember what grandma told me about how Matisse used black: how he treated black as a vibrant color. I thought I knew what she meant because black always looked richer in his paintings than other artists'. It didn't lack color: it was a color. It's funny I admired grandma of the same thing every time I saw her wearing a black sweater. It never looked dull and boring when she wore black.

My grandmother with my daughter 8 years ago.

The white bird represents peace and the yellow bird hope. The acorn and berries are seeds for something good. This picture felt appropriate for me and for the world today. Hope you can see this from up there, Baba (grandma in Japanese).

Process 1: the beginning.

Process 2: I like the simplicity of this stage as well.
Maybe I use it for something.

2016年・母の日前日の記録

4月の初めのある夜、急に滝のように鼻水が流れ出し、くしゃみを連発。「ついに私もアレルギーか？」と思っていたら、翌日からいきなり38.9度の発熱。ぐったり寝込む。

そんな風に始まった人生初のインフルエンザ、6日目にやっと熱が下がったものの、その余波で一週間は胃腸が調子悪かった。インフルエンザ、恐るべし。こんなに具合が悪くなるとは。こりゃー老人子供がかかったら危ないわ。

さて、やっと本調子！と思った途端、今度は下唇の同じ場所を二度噛んで、そこから口内炎。いつもなら３、４日で治るのに、インフルで体力が落ちていたせいか、治るのに一週間かかった。おまけに治る直前の数日がすごーく痛くて、夜中に起きたくらい。不思議なのは、あまり痛いので「悪化した？」と思った翌日からケロッと治ったこと。あの辛い痛みは一体・・・

それも治り、さて今度こそ平穏な日々・・・と思ったら、今度は副鼻腔炎ぽい。鼻の穴の奥辺りから目の下にかけて痛い。口内炎も左側だったので、左耳の奥や 鼻の左脇がなんとなしに痛いのはそれのせいかと思っていたら、鼻は鼻で炎症を起こしてるらしい。

幸い先日のインフルで医者にかかったついでに、年一回の健康診断のアポを来週取ったので、その時先生に副鼻腔も見てもらおうと思う。

そんなこんなで踏んだり蹴ったりの一ヶ月を過ごしましたが、今月は少しはいいことあるといいな・・・

それにしても今年の春はやたらと三寒四温が長い。もう五月なのに雨も多いし、ダウンを着ている人すらいる。主人曰く、今年はエルニーニョなのでそういう気候らしいが、早く春のうららかな陽気を楽しみたいものです。

作品について

自分の作品やSNSについてモヤモヤ感じていたこと、詩人の谷川俊太郎さんがご自身のホームページ、『谷川俊太郎.com』2015年12月24日の「立ち話」で書いていたことを読んだら、なんだかすっきりした。

http://www.tanikawashuntaro.com/archives/2356

谷川さんは詩について書かれておられるのだけど、私の作品もそうあってほしいと思う。ウェブ上での発言についても短く触れているだけなのにすっと心に入ってきた。詩人の目線は鋭いなぁ。

切り紙をした後に残った切れ端でコラージュ。
そこには意外な形が。
「老犬と海」

夏日

先週半ばくらいから急に朝晩涼しくなりはじめ、あーもうNYは秋になるのね、と思う今日この頃。

娘の仲良しのお家に遊びに行った際、庭に背の高いひまわりがあまりにも生き生きと茂っていたのでスケッチさせてもらった。

日中の日差しはまだまだ強く、綿のドレスに麦わら帽子で子供用の椅子に座り、首の後ろあたりに太陽をじりじりと感じながら夢中で青空に向かって伸びたひまわりを描いていてふと、ゴッホはひまわりを描きながらどんな気持だったのかな、と思った。

高校時代は特にゴッホが大好きだった。
多感な高校生の感覚は、ゴッホの絵にある鋭利な感受性と共鳴していたのだと思う。

友人の裏庭のひまわり。

こちらはアパート裏の巨大ひまわり。
身長187cmの主人が塀と同じくらいの高さと思って頂くと、
いかにこのひまわりがデカいかわかって頂けるかと。
アメリカのディナー皿くらい大きい。

スケッチに着彩したもの。
ゴッホのひまわりには遠く及ばないけど、
私も私だけのひまわりが描けるようになりたい。