Friday, September 18, 2020

DPW Spotlight Interview: Tamami Tokutake

Each week we will spotlight a different DPW artist who will give away one of their best paintings. To enter to win Tamami's painting "Everything is Temporary" go to Daily Paintworks and click on the link at the top of the page announcing their interview.

From Tamami's DPW Gallery Page:

Always been a secretively creative sort. In the past I have pursued — in various degrees — oil painting, photography, watercolor, drawing, creative writing, and textile arts. My current passion is pastel, and I am drawn to the colors and texture of it. I find the tactile aspect of fiber art in creating pastel painting.

Now I start thinking about the next painting the moment I wake up. Create daily, because you know, life is short.

I am a native of Japan, and now call Northern California and Nevada home.

Everything is Temporary
(click to view)

Enter to win by clicking on the link at the top of the DPW home page announcing Tamami's interview.

Tell us a bit about how you first started painting.

A few years back, my family and I just happened to stroll into a local small art supply store that was having a closeout sale. I was still working full-time and with a young child, so I didn't want to get into a time-consuming art adventure. After all, I already had a bunch of watercolor paper and brush in the corner of the garage somewhere... Then I found a beautiful wooden box with Russian-made soft pastels at a discounted price. I always wanted to try pastel. For when I retire and have more time, I said to myself, and the pastels came home with me. It sat on my bookshelf for a couple years, until I came across a pastel painting class at a community college. I'm still not retired, but why should that stop me?

Birds Calling
(click to view)

What mediums and genres have you experimented with?

I have tried oil (middle school art club!), watercolor and pencil drawing. I liked them all, but pastel suits my personality; it's forgiving and I can go as quickly or slowly as I want. I can even reuse the paper! I would like to try oil again sometime, as the brush strokes look very fresh and expressive. I would love to get my hands onto portraiture also. Taking a class is not easy right now with the global pandemic, but we are fortunate to have so many good online materials.

Old Gate
(click to view)

What do you feel you are learning about right now as an artist?

It's a constant learning process. Lately I keep asking myself as I paint; "What am I trying to express? What is my story?" I think it's important that you don't forget this inner voice. I want to go beyond just painting beautiful things beautifully, but I'm not sure what it is yet. One of the things I love about the act of painting is this silent conversation you have with yourself. Especially right now, I feel fortunate to have art in my life.

Chill in the Air
(click to view)

What makes you happiest about your art?

Last month, I painted a small floral piece, but I wasn't quite happy about it. I debated whether to scrap it or not, but I posted it on DPW and Twitter. An old coworker of mine found it and bought it (at a friend discount price!). She said it brought her a much needed brightness; "Keep on painting. It makes a difference in other people's lives." This comment from her has given me a lot of encouragement.

Blue for Saturday
(click to view)

Why create?

"When you don't create things, you become defined by your tastes rather than ability. Your tastes are only narrow and exclude people. So create." -- Why The Lucky Stiff

Val
(click to view)

Thanks, Tamami!


© 2020 Sophie Marine

No comments:

Post a Comment

Hello! Thank you for reading the interviews of some of the amazing artists from Daily Paintworks! If you'd like to leave a comment on this blog, it will be greatly appreciated. If you don't see your comment show up, we recommend you try a different browser. Unfortunately blogger seems to have an issue processing comments sometimes from certain browsers, especially if you aren't using a google account. This is a problem on bloggers' end and not within our control. The comments on all posts older than 30 days are moderated to prevent spam.