ARTIST STATEMENT

After many years working in the fashion industry, I’ve explored new mediums of expression, namely watercolors.  I have found the painstaking and detailed method of layering one wash over another to carefully paint my subjects directly connects to my cultural background.  My aunt and uncle in Japan were artists and calligraphers.  As I look at their work, I realize that I inherited my meticulous and sensitive approach from them.  Even though I was born in New York and have lived in the US most of my life, I feel a strong connection to my Japanese heritage. 

As a former designer, taste has always been important to me.  The fashion design experience helped me hone my sense of colors and my eye for composition.  All these elements- my Japanese influence and fashion background constantly inspire me and serve as the foundation for my artwork.

Recently, I have been working on a new series of portraits of close family members, and friends as well as paintings of myself.  I love capturing the expressions and moods of my subjects. These new portraits exude warmth, love, and happiness, which are the feelings I possess about life and my family. I try to live my life with honesty and integrity, and I hope my paintings reflect these values.

BIO

Aki Kano is a New York-based representational watercolor painter.  She received her BFA from the University of Michigan's School of Art and later followed her passion for fashion design attending the Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC.

After working as a fashion and handbag designer for over 15 years, she returned to her love of art in 2014 when she discovered watercolor painting in a class at the Art Students League of New York.  

Her meticulous and sensitive watercolor paintings, which consist mostly of portraits, have been accepted into prestigious juried shows in galleries worldwide, the Salmagundi Club, and museums, and have won numerous awards. Her work has been featured multiple times in magazines including Fine Art Connoisseur, American Art Collector, and International Artist Magazine.  She has been the President of the American Artists Professional League since 2021, a non-profit organization founded in 1928, consisting of over 600 of America’s most accomplished realist artists.  Aki is a Signature Member of the AAPL, an Honorary Member of the Salmagundi Club, a Juried Member of the Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club, a Juried member of the International Guild of Realism, and a member of PoetsArtists.  She is represented online on Artsy.net by 33 Contemporary Gallery.

She is very excited that five of her watercolor portraits landed on the moon via the Lunar Codex on February 22, 2024. The Lunar Codex includes the works of over 30,000 artists, writers, musicians, and filmmakers from 161 countries, in 4 time capsules launched to the moon.

My uncle’s ink painting

My aunt’s calligraphy