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TOGETHERNESS  PEACE CARING |
‘I wanted to find a way of making a living without relying on others’
‘When the brush and the man
Have become one,
There is no difference
Between hands and feet.’
‘Even when alone, I am no more lonely,
if only I have a brush,
And when I rub down an inkstick,
The sound refreshes me.’
WHY HIROKO STARTED PAINTING
Hiroko Kimura took up painting aged 27 when she attended some haiga classes, which are a form of traditional Japanese water colour painting. She was desperate to become financially and socially independent, having tried and then abandoned other skills such as typing and knitting because they were just too time consuming. She knew her mother had some creative talent so hoped that she had inherited some ability. It was very difficult for her however, and she felt on many occasions like giving up and that this path would also end in failure. She kept trying however encouraged by those around her and a turning point came when Mr Takashi Sugisaki, introduced her to the International Association of Foot and Mouth painters. She was awarded a scholarship by them and 5 years later she was accepted to the association as a full member. Her livelihood was secured. She was 33 years old.
SUBJECT, STYLE & THEMES
Hiroko aims to catch the ‘simple kindness and generosity of nature’ in her paintings of children, flowers and plants, which she says emerges from the ‘child’ within her. She hopes that others too will be inspired to reconnect with this same innocence and purity when they see her paintings.
“My paint brush express my feelings through my left toes,
This is a world made up solely of kindness,
beyond borders or race.”
Hiroko’s childhood experience of war made her feel the direct impact of mankind’s large scale capability of cruelty and destruction – and she saw men in armies and governments as being mainly responsible for the damage. As a result of this she has found it difficult to represent men in her paintings and so continued to focus on her motifs of young girls, plants, flowers and animals. Nature is safe and nurtured in her world.
Though having studied traditional Japanese haiga painting, Hiroko is also proud that she has found her own unique style. It is in this way she can express her true self she says.
“I have my own way to go,
Said a strong voice
Which came out of myself
When I was holding my brush”
The act of painting seems to be a place of refuge for Hiroko. Though becoming more and more difficult as Hiroko ages, it stills gives her access to an ‘ideal’ world which brings comfort and hope. The world that Hiroko paints into existence also touches others who may also seek solace from a world where suffering, wars and environmental destruction continues to spread.
‘My picture is my mind, the expression of my mind.
When my mind is disturbed,
My picture is disturbed
When my mind is clear,
My picture is beautiful’
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