Chiyoko Kana

About the artist

Chiyoko Kana is a self-taught artist who loves cats and dogs. Since her parents were not really wealthy when she was a little girl, nobody really gave her any toys to play with. She chose a pencil and scrap papers to draw anything she wanted to see. The princess, fairies, big houses, castles or gorgeous meals, and much much more. Chiyoko’s imagination brought her anywhere she wanted, and anything she want to be. At 16, a Japanese publisher offered her the first illustration work.

 At 20, Chiyoko was offered to have her very first exhibit in Japan. Although the exhibition was successful, she experienced some moments that told her how scary it is to not know anything about business or trading. Though she wanted to go to an art college, but decided to go to business college instead to obtain the necessary knowledge and ways to survive.

Chiyoko Kana has graduated from SAIT in Calgary, AB Canada. After working for 1 year in Canada, she came back to Japan and has worked on several illustration works, 3 artworks were selected at the Genso contest in Tokyo. Listing these works made her feel like such a successful artist, “but it is not true at all“. The year she came back to Japan was 2001. The worst time to find a job is the so-called “Ice age of recruiting”. Initially Chiyoko was hoping to have full-time office work and continue on the artwork side, however it turned out that she had to struggle just to find a job to keep bringing food to the table and roof over her head.

She worked in despatch for several months and while continuing her drawing her congenital symptom in her right hand got severely worse. This stopped her art for a very long 10 years. During this time, she have tried to paint with her left hand (she’s a right-handed), started writing novels to seek another way to explore her creativity which led her to be awarded in 2014. Although Chiyoko could enjoy writing, making stories and having fun with other authors and her fans, she always knew something very important was missing. That is painting. Art. It is always this. Painting. She dosent have vocabulary or any way to express how hard it was to not be able to paint. “Art is not only the pleasure of life to me, it is a way to live another day with hope.”

In recent years Chiyoko Kana has found an assistive device for people who need special care with writing. She has regained the ability to paint and draw, and began with digital devices to draw, and it was just a pure joy.

Artwork Themes & Subject Matter

Chiyoko Kana draws and paints a dream worlds that make people smile, evokes feelings of happiness and joy of life. She truly believes that is what makes people delighted. Her work focuses on digital arts and painting, that give a magical and fairy tale like moment to whoever sees them. Her subjects are girls, animals specially cats and dogs, and nature.

Press

Chiyoko Kana has been featured in online sources including Yamaguchi Talent Encylopedia and PRTIMES Japan

Upcoming Exhibitions

CV

Education

1994 Kishida Art School, Japan

Award

2024

Fine Work Award – 76th Yamaguchi Prefecture Art Exhibition 

Selected Solo Exhibitions

1999

See also

17

PHOTOGRAPHYDIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHYFIGURATIVE ARTNUDE ARTSELF-PORTRAITURESURREAL ART

Iness Rychlik

Dream Of Moon Bunny, Hofu Gallery, Hofu-city, Japan

Selected Group Exhibitions

2004

Genso ten, Tokyo-to art museum, Tokyo, Japan

2003

Genso ten, Tokyo-to art museum, Tokyo, Japan