This came from a very simple line drawing of an oval. I know it looks like a squished yin-yang or a furry watermelon, but I never really know what I’m painting until I finish painting. Just that I had the intention of wanting to create a sense of unity, of things fitting together to make whole, maybe the longing for it but also the fact that we are originally whole no matter what it looks like on the surface, with all the dichotomies we exist in.   I added a pearl there that could look like a tight rope walker, still in between the two sides of the world, just being a pearl. It’s humbly small but bright and always there; it’s just a matter of reaching for and finding it.

Shizuka Kusayanagi

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Painter and dwriter (draw & writer), now based in Fukuoka, Japan. I’m passionate about art as a way of connecting—both with oneself and with others. I believe there’s no hierarchy among art forms. My practice ranges from oil paintings on linen to single-panel cartoons on index cards, and inclusive, all-ages art workshops. More to come.