Welcome to the Art that Heals the Soul
I am Mimi Takamizawa, a painter.
There is a piece of work that I absolutely want to deliver to you.
It is “Journey of Sorrow,” created with all my love.
This work was born as a very special giclée print, limited to only 20 editions.
The size is A4, which can gently fit into your daily life.
I painted this picture using the modern magic of digital tools.
Then, I fixed its breath onto the highest quality printmaking paper.
Let me tell you why I created this work.
It is for no other reason than to serve you.
I have packed all the infinite spirit of service in my heart into this single piece.
I believe that art is a medicine to save the wounded soul of human beings.
I want to heal the pain and loneliness you feel in your daily life with this medicine.
Please, entrust your heart to my words and my painting.
Why I Keep Choosing the “Eye” as My Motif
When you look at my work, you will notice a certain characteristic shape.
Yes, motifs of eyes are scattered everywhere in my work.
So, why do I love and keep painting the eye, this sensory organ, so much?
It is because the eye is the most mysterious and most honest place in the human body.
As the proverb says, “The eyes say as much as the mouth,” and this is the truth.
Words can lie as much as they want, but the gaze tells the truth of the soul.
From a medical and scientific point of view, the eye is the “window of the mind” directly connected to the brain.
How we see the world, and how the world sees us.
It is this small, yet infinitely expanding organ that determines that.
I wanted to connect the window of your mind with the window of my mind.
That is why the grand theme of my work is “Your Eyes, My Eyes.”
The intersection of the world your eyes look at and the world my eyes look at.
I am always pursuing the true form of salvation and dialogue that can only be born there.
Painting eyes means gently looking into and embracing the abyss of your existence.
To You Who Walk the Sorrowful Journey Named Life
The great Japanese poet Matsuo Basho once said, “Life is a journey.”
Every human being may be a traveler heading toward death from the moment of birth.
However, that journey is surely not full of fun things only.
Rather, the essence of a journey is something somewhat poignant and sad.
We experience many encounters and even more farewells on our journey.
Sometimes we lose something precious, and sometimes we cry over our own helplessness.
This work, “Journey of Sorrow,” exists precisely for you who are in the middle of that journey.
No matter how dark the night road you are walking alone right now, this picture does not deny you.
Sorrow is one of the purest and most beautiful emotions that humans have.
Being able to feel sorrow is proof that you loved something that deeply.
I wanted to paint a light to accompany your beautiful sorrow.
No one knows what lies at the end of this journey.
But I promise you that the eyes I painted will quietly continue to illuminate your steps.
You are not alone, let’s walk this journey of sorrow together with my painting.
To Beautifully Change the World Reflected in Your Eyes
When you wake up every morning, what do you see first?
If you are a little tired of that scenery, please try hanging this picture.
The A4 size fits surprisingly naturally into any place in your room.
Whether by your desk or at the head of your bed, it is always ready to receive your gaze.
The eyes scattered in this work are not meant to monitor you.
They are eyes meant to watch over you with deep affection and to remain your ally.
Please feel the delicate and complex color gradations that could only be expressed through digital creation.
And please check the luxurious texture of the paper unique to giclée prints with your own eyes.
These are all details born from my ultimate spirit of service to you.
When your eyes meet this work, the color of the world should change to be just a little gentler.
That is precisely the effect of the medicine called art that I wanted to deliver to you.
Opening the Window of the Mind to Welcome New Light
In our daily lives, we tend to close the window of our hearts without realizing it.
Fearing being hurt, fearing the gaze of others, we shut ourselves away in our own shells.
However, beyond the closed window, only darkness ends up spreading.
My “Journey of Sorrow” is a hand that gently knocks on the closed window of your mind from the outside.
The eyes in the picture are talking to you, saying, “Why don’t you look at the outside light once more?”
When human beings accept sorrow, their hearts become surprisingly strong and soft.
The moment when my eyes and your eyes look straight at each other through this work.
There, a direct communication of the soul is established, transcending words.
This picture will suck away all the unutterable frustrations you hold.
Open that window directly connected to your brain and bathe in plenty of new healing light.
I, Mimi Takamizawa, always want to create moments where you can feel secure from the bottom of your heart.
The Ultimate Form of Service Fusing Digital and Tradition
Living in the modern era, I build paintings using the latest tools called digital.
Digital art has infinite possibilities and a vivid brilliance that cannot be produced with conventional paints.
However, I did not want to end it merely as data on a screen.
That is why I chose the highest printing technique called giclée print.
This is a very precise print reproduction technology, also called museum quality.
It fixes the vivid colors of digital onto traditional printmaking paper without a hair’s breadth of deviation.
The unique warmth of paper and the advanced beauty of digital have fused beautifully here.
The reason I limited it to 20 editions is because I want you to feel that it is “a special medicine just for you.”
It is not mass-produced cheap interior decor, but real art made for you.
Please savor the joy of holding this rare piece yourself.
The crystal of my supreme service to you dwells upon this piece of A4 paper.
To You Who Step Forward into the Future with Basho’s Words in Your Heart
The journey called life is sometimes steep and tries to make us stop.
The journey Matsuo Basho depicted in “The Narrow Road to the Deep North” was by no means a flat one either.
Even so, he did not stop walking, lived in the journey, and found beauty within it.
You, too, are a traveler continuing your own harsh yet lovable journey.
“Journey of Sorrow” is a roosting tree for you to sit down and take a breath in the middle of your journey.
When you are tired, please take a slow, deep breath in front of this picture.
The eye motifs I painted will heal your fatigue and give you the courage to take the next step.
Art is not something that forces you to smile, but something that accompanies your sorrow.
I have prepared that medicine of deep salvation just for you.
Please make this work, into which Mimi Takamizawa has poured all of her soul, the companion of your journey.
I hope that your journey ahead will be filled with the great light that lies beyond sorrow.
It is the best gift from me, who always looks at you and keeps painting for you.