Masahiro Okayama

Masahiro Okayama | Walking People

You first studied marketing before turning to art. How has your background in marketing influenced your artistic journey?

Marketing views people not as individuals but as groups with shared attributes, and builds strategies and tactics accordingly. Perhaps unconsciously, this perspective influences me to paint not portraits of individuals, but crowds as a recurring motif in my work.

What motivated you to pursue a second bachelor’s degree in art at Kyoto University of the Arts in 2023, after already establishing yourself as an artist?

After learning the fundamentals, I wanted to challenge myself academically. It was an important place of learning that helped me find answers to how I should face painting and what I should express.

Masahiro Okayama | Blue Motion

In your statement, you mention “colors that explain shapes” and “shapes that explain colors.” Could you explain how you achieve this balance in your watercolor works?

Colors and shapes are inseparable. Sometimes color defines form more than lines, other times forms suggest colors. I seek their dynamic balance.

Watercolor has a strong element of chance. How do you embrace or control these unpredictable effects in your painting process?

Watercolor is dialogue with water. I encourage accidents that enrich the work. Unpredictability is not a flaw, but watercolor’s vitality.

Your works often depict city crowds and urban life. What draws you most to the atmosphere of cities as a subject?

Cities embody both order and chaos. The tension between architecture and fleeting human presence fascinates me.

Masahiro Okayama | City | 2023

How do you translate the emotions of people in a city—joy, fear, melancholy—into abstract forms and colors?

I avoid depicting faces directly. Instead, I express emotions through contrasts in color and the rhythm of brushstrokes. Gentle blue washes or rhythmic shifts of color fields suggest hidden intentions, passions, and determination that do not appear on the surface.

You have participated in many international watercolor events. How has international exposure influenced your artistic vision?

Meeting artists worldwide showed me diverse approaches. My cityscapes became part of a global dialogue on how we live in space.