Artist's Statement

Painting is my visual poetry for describing the idea of creature comforts. I enjoy telling stories through painting, about the meaning of comfort from the point of view of animals, about my desire to understand the feelings of animals, and about my interest in how humans surround themselves with pets and nature as a part of their creature comforts. I paint animals as an allegory of my personal migration and my quest for the feeling of home.

After coming from Tokyo, the proximity to nature and the diversity of birds in the northwestern United States fascinates me. Having migrated to the Pacific Northwest through my marriage, I identify my personal transplantation with the lives of migrating birds, in contrast with the year-round resident birds and other wildlife, as well as domestic animals.

In my pictorial narratives these animal characters become metaphors for my perspectives on outdoor and indoor scenes. The pet chickens in my art symbolize the domestic life. I try to convey mood through the use of color, form, and perspective. I like to emphasize spatiality in order to explore concepts of distance and intimacy.