How long have you lived on the Beaches?
Almost 20 years now, I arrived in 2004.
Do you have a favourite beach?
I like North Palmy, Barrenjoey, my favourite left corner and full of lots of great memories.
What’s one of your fondest memories of life here?
There are too many so it’s hard to choose. But I’d pick the first mural I painted on the side of Aloha Surf Manly, which was my first exterior mural with my artist friends.
If you had to live anywhere else in the world, where would that second-best place to live be?
As I’m getting older, or mature, I’ve started exploring my hometown in Japan, Toyama. I didn’t like it so much when I was 18, but now I have local surfers there as good friends and I have been surfing there too. Not like Australia, there’s often a lack of swell, but they are still keen, chasing even small surf in winter conditions, and when it’s pumping, they charge. I really respect their attitude and mind-set, and it’s made me more aware of the importance of exploring my hometown.
What inspired your cover?
I simply draw waves in my own style. For North Narrabeen, often left waves are featured but there are sick rights there as well, so I wanted to illustrate Northy’s perfect right and left in the artwork.
What inspires your work in general?
I like Japanese comics and I grew up with them so in general my work is kind of cartoonish. I am trying to develop and update it with my age and aesthetics.
How would you describe your art?
Bold, quirky, sarcastic yet fun and beautiful? Am I making sense? Probably not haha!
What is your favourite part of the process?
Regardless of digital or physical, I am the first person to see my final work in each piece. It is a purely satisfying moment, which I enjoy every time.
Which artists, dead or alive, would you most like to have dinner with?
I’d pick Akira Toriyama, the author of Dragon Ball. I read it when I was 4 and have been a big fan ever since. He recently passed away, a huge sorrow for all his fans around the world.
How did you discover you had a gift for art?
I am not sure if I was gifted, but I was a doodling kid back in school and all my classmates enjoyed what I drew. Since then, it is one of tools for my communication with others.
Did you study art?
Yes, I studied Visual Communication at UTS and took Illustration as my sub major.
What’s your favourite thing about what you do?
I never thought about drawing becoming my full-time gig so my favourite thing is that I can draw whenever I want, for now!
What would you like to see in the future of the Beaches art scene?
That’s a hard question as there are already so many great artists here and in so many art forms, but I suppose something cool would be to see more unexpected collaborations between artists, and that’s something I’d of course love to be a part of.
What advice do you have for young or aspiring artists?
It seems the world is going super-fast, so it may be hard to do what you really like to do. For example, should you create brand content or focus on more personal work. My hope is that everyone enjoys what you actually like to do, and you can then avoid the struggle of doing things you don’t want to do. This could be advice for myself too.
Follow Kentaro
Follow @kentaro_yoshida on socials for his latest updates and visit kentaroyoshida.com to learn more.
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