” Eyes in my paintings “

 

I’ve been often asked why eyes are on my paintings a lot. Well, it’s a good question.
Before, I did not think about it.
In Japan, I’d never painted eyes. They started coming on my canvases here in San Francisco.  

Moving here alone, leaving my own country, family and friends, was not always so much fun. Life and customs are different. Language is like a math form, and from time to time, I feel I’m going to become lost where I am.

One day, my mother in Japan gave me these words:
"Everybody comes to be born in this world alone, and when we finish our time, everybody leaves this world alone again."

When I heard these words, I realized that it is up to me to live my life in my own way.

I mean, all of the things I see and feel in this world around me are just coming out from inside of me, depending on my state of mind. And now, I found that those eyes in my paintings are my own eyes after all. It is just like, when you read a novel, you follow the eye of the main character, and the other characters are all just gushing out to make the context of his story.
It opened my eyes to have learned that I could control my life better simply by changing my own viewpoint.

Now, I feel like I have two ‘mes’ in my life. one is what is actually struggling in this life in my body, and the other is watching that me from above. When I get trapped in strong emotions, I talk with my other eye which is observing and tells me that it is not that hard from its objective view.

In that sense, when you get stuck in depressing situation, once you separate your eye from your body and start seeing yourself putting a little distance from your actual body, you can have a clearer vision. Pain and suffering are mostly coming from the subjective state of your mind.

I know that my art is very emotional, but I can express my emotions on my canvas so strongly because I borrow from what my other objective eye is watching about me.

I also feel the power that is always watching and leading me from above. My appreciation for the connection with the power always make me feel humble, and I love that feeling.

 

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