Yu. I.2021

Concept

I have resumed copperplate engraving for the first time in 30 years after having stopped due to employment. Therefore, I do not belong to any group and am a freelance artist. When I was in the art department of a university, I was not very comfortable with oil painting and sketching, and then a new teacher specializing in printmaking was transferred from Tokyo. When I saw what he was doing, I was interested in his work because it was quite interesting, even though it was all black and white. I was also attracted to printmaking because I could keep my own original prints and share them with others. Also, I was not confident in my sense of color, so I was attracted to the simplicity of just black and white and the depth of black. Now, I am working on metallic pen drawings as well as prints in parallel. When I resumed production, for a while I couldn't corrode the etchings, so I made preliminary sketches with a black pen until I could corrode them, but I ran out of ink for my black pen and went to a stationery store, where I found a metallic pen. I had a black sketchbook at home and had no use for it, so I gave it a try. Compared to copperplate engraving, I can work more freely and enjoyably, so I fell in love with the fun of it and have continued to work with it. Copperplate prints are cut in editions of 10, so if you want to buy one, it will be one of those 10 prints. Pen drawings are limited to that one piece. The early works are easy to understand, but I put an "Eye" (=eye) in the picture. From there, I extend the line and start drawing. When I start a painting, I have no idea how it will turn out, and I think, "This looks like this," or "This looks a little like an animal," and then I finish it. Sometimes I decide on a motif, such as an animal or a building like a castle, and then paint it. As for prints, take a look at the work entitled "YU 1981," which is used as the icon on my profile. YU" means "play," "kind," and "friend. But most of all, I want the viewer to enjoy my work in a "YU" way.