I had promised Mr. Yamamoto (山本豊津) of Tokyo Gallery (東京画廊) that I would continue producing pastel paintings energetically, build up a substantial body of work, and return to Tokyo to show him photographs of my new paintings.
However, the Lehman Shock occurred soon afterward.
The Japanese government launched a large-scale vocational training initiative for working adults. As a result, students who would otherwise have enrolled in my programming school began flowing into these government-funded training programs. I had no choice but to take on vocational training contracts myself.
I became completely occupied with running those programs and no longer had the time or energy to devote to creating art.
It was not until around the second half of 2016 that things finally settled down and I was able to concentrate on painting again.
With my 60th birthday approaching, I made a firm decision: “This is my chance. I have to go all out and make a serious attempt to earn my living as a professional artist.”
I therefore concentrated my efforts over a short period, preparing a substantial collection of works all at once and bringing them to Tokyo Gallery in the hope of becoming one of its represented artists.
These are the works featured on this website.
In the end, however, we did not reach an agreement because of the “difference in artistic style.” Nevertheless, Mr. Yamamoto kindly wrote a recommendation for my work and advised me to approach a well-known gallery specializing in representational art.
Why the Difference in Artistic Style Prevented Us from Reaching an Agreement
Even before traveling to Tokyo, I had already realized that the spread of the internet and personal computers had ushered in a new era. Artists no longer needed to rely on commercial art galleries to sell their work; they could sell directly through social media and web marketing.
There were already pioneers leading the way, too, such as ZIN ART — The World-Travelling Painter (世界画家旅人 ZIN ART).
In fact, I believe this new approach offers an even greater opportunity.
At present, I believe there are very few artists who have seriously and thoroughly pursued online self-promotion, actively marketed and sold their own artwork, and developed new business models to generate income.
If we sit back and do nothing, it is obvious that online art sales will eventually become fiercely competitive, because the barriers to entry are close to zero.
If you are going to do it, the time is now!
