Red Striped Cat

Children’s drawings are genius.

When I look at the pictures children draw so freely and openly, I sometimes feel that my own paintings are very boring.

I have grown up enough, so now I think I will go back to being a child.

I want to reclaim a free heart, without any limits.

子供の絵は天才だ。

自由にのびのびと描く子供たちの絵を見ていると、自分の絵はとてもつまらないと思うことがある。

私は十分大人になったから、今度は子供に戻ろうと思う。

何の制限もない、自由な心を取り戻したい。

Measurement: 45cm (h) x 53cm (w)

About the artist:

Kanako Okamoto is a Japanese illustrator and picture book author born in Kyoto. Based between Tokyo and Malaysia, she creates picture books, editorial illustrations, and commissioned works for publishing, museums, and brands. Her notable projects include illustrations for UNIQLO Sustainability’s The Power of Clothing: The Journey of Clothes and a large-scale mural for the Insect Exhibition at the National Museum of Nature and Science in Tokyo. In 2022, she published her picture book Swim Back Home (Oyoide Ie ni Kaeritai). Influenced by years of swimming and artistic swimming, her work captures the gentle flow and quiet rhythms of everyday life.