Don’t you just love learning a new word? I discovered the art of Naoshi on Instagram and instantly fell in love with her colourful, kawaii and vintage inspired nostalgic art. It wasn’t until I looked into her colourful creations further that I realised that her primary material of choice is colourful sand! I have vague memories of making art with sand as a child, but it’s mainly limited to those little filled bottles you can get as holiday souvenirs (very popular in the 90s-00s!) and making sandcastles at the beach. In Japan, creating colourful art with sand is known as Sunae.
So, to share the Sunae love, I asked Los Angeles based artist, Naoshi a few questions. English is not her first language, but she has exhibited her work across the world including in Korea, Japan, Italy and France. Naoshi is currently based in Los Angeles.
What type of art did you create before you started working in Sunae?
In 2004, I decided to become an artist and began making art by watercolor. Three months later, I found sunae(sand art) so my watercolor-artworks are only 6 or 7.
How did you get started as a professional artist?
What things inspire you the most to create?
Which other artists do you love?
What’s next for your art? Do you have a dream project that you’d like to do?
What advise would you share for new artists?
Co-Creator @wearefoodscouts & @KitschInc. Digital Marketing & Creative Direction. Illustration, writing, creativity & style. Fan of films, TV, cartoons, colourful hair & clean beauty. Blogger since 2009.