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Meet Daisuke Okamoto of OKAINA IMAGE

Today we’d like to introduce you to Daisuke Okamoto.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Raised in Tokyo, Japan, and currently living and working in Los Angeles. I’m an artist I’ve liked drawing as far back as I can remember. My father showed me his drawings, who was really good at it, and we drew together for fun when I was little. Drawing and doodling unconsciously become my daily life habit in childhood.

I moved to the US in 2000 to delve into filmmaking and started working on my first bigger piece at the same time, which took about a year to finish and also took many turnings and established my style over a year.

After I completed every new art pieces, I endlessly had new ideas for new one and new ones… I continued doing this cycle of creation with fun, and exhibiting my work at art show became my next goal, but I didn’t have enough pieces back then.

To express my imagination with my style of art, it was not unusual that I worked over the years on a single piece. After years of creation, and I was finally ready to represent the series of my art. However, I had no idea about art at all how to show and where all galleries were.

Something I could do right away was walking around the city with my portfolio and visited galleries as many as I could. Although most of the galleries didn’t see my work, a few took times to review it and was able to get important information that connected to new galleries to new people.

In 2009, I had my very first solo show in Culver City, which widely started expanding my art field and perspective. I also learned the importance of believing in what you wanted to do and working hard for it, your wish would come true. My career as an artist has started.

In 2010, my works were accepted by The Hive gallery, and have become a resident artist for eight years now through intern at the gallery, where made me grow as an artist. I’ve been actively showing my work at various art shows, events, and conventions, and working for designing and illustrating for clothing products, caps, skateboard, logos, and more… in the US and Japan.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
All roads must have some types of struggles when you seriously think to become a profession because there was no right guidelines to succeed. It’s individual and depending on.

One of my main challenges is cultivating a sense of creative mind and abilities to keep making new and consciously keep believing in what you love to do all the time. It’s little and often fills the purse, and just keep doing and thinking.

Figuring out some struggles or problems about showing, creating, and even marketing was always worth to become a true artist. Speaking English and working large scale and new mediums were also another challenges, but it got solved by being with professional artists and working at the Hive gallery.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with OKAINA IMAGE – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
I’m an artist and my drawing, OKAINA IMAGE, which investigates the cycle of life in the complex, biomorphic, narratives of the organic. My work represents the idea of the hybrid in both identity and transformation that is influenced by all that sci-fi, and psychedelic cultures.

Drawn with an intense passion for intricate ink line drawings, my work has been known to work over a year on a single piece. My drawings are intricate system of penmanship.

So, what’s next? Any big plans?
I started thinking seriously about focusing more on murals last one year. Working murals and working on papers are completely two things. Because working with different size, times, and technique, a sense of achievement from accomplishing them is immeasurable, and and it helps to exposing your art to the public.

Murals can give life to walls, streets, cities, and then it eventually becomes our cultures to legacies that makes more places more entertaining and change places with the power of art. I want to make more of it and being a part of it.

I and the owner of the Hive gallery, Nathan Cartwright, have worked together exhibiting lA art in Japan since 2012. We did five times in the past, and we will be back in Japanese art fair with the Hive art from LA in 2019.

Contact Info:

Image Credit:
Mark Mester from KTLA

Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.

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