Is painting a slow and planned-out process for you, or more intuitive and spontaneous?

My painting is slow and intuitive. When I was in Japan I made a draft every time, but now I don’t.

Although some of your paintings in this exhibition are pretty abstract, one of them is clearly based on the night sky and constellations, and a couple others evoke things like fabric patterns and biological textures. What’s the inspiration for your imagery, and what are you trying to convey with it?

Interestingly, I follow the same process with both writing a copy and painting. Before painting, I imagine an emotion for the painting, inspired by a theme: a painful but happy feeling, or calm but empowering emotion, and so on—which are sort of the emotions we have forgotten in everyday life. Then, I remember a specific experience when I felt that emotion. At that time, however, I have no idea how to embody the feeling on my canvas. I get some inspiration, moving my brush. When I find these hints, they push me in the direction I want to paint.

What would you like people to take away from these paintings after seeing them?

Whether I paint objects or abstract images, I attempt to paint an emotion that is not a big emotion like fun, happiness, or sadness but an emotion tied to each personality. I painted the paintings for this exhibition for myself, but I hope they will help one who meets them to remember the subtle emotions inside of them that they have forgotten they have.

Finally, is there anything that I’ve missed about your paintings that you’d like people to know about?

I initially chose 4“ x 4” canvases because I’m a slow painter, but I now think the size is a perfect fit for me. My goal is to not make a big surprise or loud impact, but a subtle connection between my works and viewers. Please come and see my tiny works.