"My parents were busy and I was often left at my grandmother's house. Life at my grandmother's house was simple and polite, and I learned a lot of important things. One of the most memorable things is that he always had crayons and drawing paper on his desk so that he could draw at any time. Looking back now, I think that was my grandmother's way of raising her, but all of my grandmother's relatives were like that, and I think there were many children who fell in love with painting. I think my uncle was one of those influences, but there was an oil painting set that my uncle used at my grandmother's house. My uncle was a really good painter, and even as a child, he looked at me and wondered, "How can I paint like this?", and I loved to touch the paints hardened by the palette and the unique smell of oil paintings. I think that was the influence that made me like painting. I also came to have a strong admiration for oil painting."
It was when he was in high school that an event that could be said to be the origin of his painting activities occurred when he was a high school student.
"When I was in high school, I drew a stuffed bear that I used to cherish to exhibit at a cultural festival. Ah, I remember being very happy to feel that this child is still at the center of my soul. What made me even happier was that my friend who saw the painting said, 'I want this painting.' I handed over the painting and was at a loss in front of the dog's piggy bank that I received as a thank you, with joy and surprise. Maybe it's because of this memory that I can continue to paint even now."
InterviewFeatured Artist
"Some people adopted my paintings on the website, bought them, put them in stores, and invited me to exhibit them at galleries. I have been drawing for a long time, and when I started going to class for an exhibition, as soon as I heard the teacher say, "I don't try to draw well," for some reason I burst into tears. Until then, as I grew up somewhere in my heart, I believed that it was important to write well and to draw well at all times. I realized that I had to draw like a photo, and it was stiff even before I drew it, and it was painful for a long time. I was moving my brush with joy, and I had lost the feeling I had when I drew a stuffed bear. Thanks to those words, I felt that my shoulders were relaxed, and I began to think that it would be okay to draw and draw and draw as I was immersed in it whenever I had time. I am very grateful to have met the teacher who told me that and the teacher who was the basis for those words."
Freed from the conflict between "wanting to draw" and "being good", she says that she likes her paintings the most now.
"There was a big change in my painting style. Until then, I was afraid to show people what I really wanted to draw. He may have been afraid that if he was criticized, the existence he had cherished would also be denied. Now, I am looking for my own style of painting, combining the oil painting technique that I have always admired with pastels that I have always loved."
She said that her encounter with the open call for contemporary children's painting was also of great significance to her.
"The Contemporary Children's Painting Association is a public exhibition that considers contemporary children's paintings as 'expressions of pure heart,' and it is a warm and important place where people accept my feelings about painting as they are."
"I was a very quiet child, and my mother was busy, so picture books were like friends. Even if there are painful or sad things, angels, fairies, children of the same age as you, and kind adults will be on your side in picture books. I was happy to be able to go to that world, and before I knew it, the characters in the picture book had become irreplaceable to me. So I think drawing angels and fairies has always been natural for me. The works "Book Fairy" and "The Fairy is by Your Side" express the feelings of that time. This work was nominated by the Contemporary Children's Painting Association, and it is a very affectionate work combined with my feelings behind the painting."
Finally, we asked him about his motivation in creative activities.
"I think it's very lucky if there is even one person who touches my heartstrings, even if it's not everyone who sees my paintings. Even if there was something painful or sad, when I opened the picture book, it took me to that world as if I were enveloped in light. I want to be able to create works that warmly embrace someone, just like picture books and stories that have given me countless happiness, and I want to pass the baton of happiness to someone again. I am drawing while thinking that I can create a world that begins with a picture that can be the entrance to such a story."
It was a warm and comforting interview that seems to Mr. Amabata, who continues to face painting with a pure heart. I can't wait to see the new world she draws in the future.