Chihiro Yabe studied design and oil painting in Tokyo, Japan. She began her career in the field of interior design and progressed to creating landscaping perspectives for one of the largest housing developers in Japan. Moving on to pursue her passion in watercolor painting, she then focused on botanical watercolors. Her paintings have won competitions in New York and her paintings have become popular as book covers, stationary, and greeting cards throughout Japan. Reflecting years of formal training in traditional oil painting, her warm style evokes a sense of love and healing.

When Chihiro encounters a really moving scene, she tries to sketch it and keep these sketches in a file. From this source she develops a whole concept of the work she is going to draw. She draws several rough sketches for this. She aims to visualize the moving scene that impressed her. A still life, a landscape scene, a cut-out of peoples life, or a motif of peace is incredibly beautiful to her. These images capture her artistic attention like a child's smile or a bouquet of flowers. Although what is expressed on a board is no more than shapes and colors, she aims to reflect her feelings and thoughts through her works.

Her work merges European and Japanese styles. She strives for her drawings to contain a touch of Japanese atmosphere. She always wishes that her works have such dignity and depth that they could give some peace of mind or healing to those who view them. She wants to continues on this path and would like to develop her internal world as well as her drawing skill.

My field journal at Chihiro's Art Blog.

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