About the Artist

Kumi has a strong foundation in the classical arts having first studied illustration at Nichibi Art Institute in Japan, and then received her BFA in Combined Art (designed for art education field) from Universidad de las Americas in Puebla, Mexico. She then went on to study portrait painting on apprenticeship under a master portrait artist in Madrid, Spain.

She started as a professional portrait painter under the contract of both U.S. Navy and Air Force in the San Francisco Bay Area. Through these military contracts, she taught painting classes at the hobby center on the base besides painting oil portraits of uniformed military personnel. One can see some fine examples of this phase of her career on the gallery pages. At the same time she began teaching portrait painting at some of the studios and private homes in the San Francisco Bay Area.

About that time a very unique fate came to Kumi’s painting life that she was discovered by a Black American lady, who will then become her agent for portrait painting among successful Black American people. Before Kumi knew she found herself an expert in portraying Black American people with grace and dignity through this lady as her agent, and they produced many works from a Chicago police officer, musicians in the South, to a reverend of major San Francisco church.

In her early work career, she worked for an organization that puts on trade shows for Women’s Wear industry where she got practical experience in the commercial side of art and design. This experience served her well when in the 1990’s she went to work for Delta Ceramcoat Inc., American art & craft material company, under the director of creative and educational services. Besides creating sample paintings using the company’s new products, she dealt with both Japanese and Spanish speaking buyers during the trade shows. She was also assigned to assist the company with their sales and marketing in Japan. After the Delta’s creative & educational services dissolved, she went to work for Daler-Rowney, UK art material company, promoting its products during the trade shows. With this experience Kumi made close association with Japanese art & craft industry along with many painters from Japan, Argentina and other parts of the world.

Kumi and her husband moved to Cannon Beach, Oregon from S.F. Bay Area in 2005. They stay at their Hillsboro residence for their city convenience and for Kumi’s teaching activities.

Having done and experienced in various types and fields in creative arts, she now finds teaching most rewarding, especially of portrait painting in which she has been very successful. Kumi teaches the technique both in oil and soft pastels that is not common to the American painters which leads to more successful results. And she believes that this is her mission in her latter phase of painting life to introduce this technique to the American painters to add to their existing one.