Alvin Takamori
I'm attracted to water media. It's a medium I feel comfortable with, having used it as a child. Regarding the subjects for my art, there are things of beauty that I'm drawn to. There are also stories I want to share.
Born in Los Angeles, as the younger of two boys, to an accountant and a seamstress from Hawaii, I grew up in Gardena. The encouragement of a kindergarten teacher introduced me to painting, and I’ve been attracted to a creative life ever since.
An impulse to be practical led to a couple of years studying physics at Occidental College but, the need for a more creative outlet, led me to a compromise idea to study industrial design at CSU Long Beach. After college, I worked primarily as a craftsman, building and installing custom signs and displays. With the evolution of computer software, I transitioned to a career in graphic design.
During my career in commercial art, art for purely creative expression was shunted to the back burner as something to do someday, when I had more time. This occurred over twenty five years later.
As a volunteer at the Gardena Valley Japanese Cultural Institute (GVJCI), I had worked with Mary Hatsuko Higuchi and Donald Hata. Somehow, based on their appreciation for my graphic designs, in 2014 they invited me to join the Henry Fukuhara Manzanar “Paint Out,”organized by Al Setton and Michele Pearson. At the time, my old excuse of being too busy was no longer valid. I found myself with more time, when my care-giving duties ended. My wife had recovered from cancer and my father, who had Alzheimer's, passed away the previous year. So, it seemed like a good time for a new adventure.
I hadn’t picked up a brush to paint anything since college. I had some old acrylic paints from college that still seemed okay, but besides that I had no art supplies. After researching plein air painting, I knew I needed an easel, something to sit on, paints, brushes, a palette, and paper or canvases. The details concerning which paints, which brushes, which paper to use was a guessing game. Also, there was a new world of additional items like palette knives, sponges, tapes, mediums, masking fluid, spray bottles, etc. After a spending spree collecting whatever I could find on sale, I accumulated more than I needed and headed off to the Eastern Sierras.
The first day of painting I met Ron Libbrecht, who puzzled over my use of acrylic paint straight from the tube. By the third day, I was mixing my paints on a palette and creating paintings that I was happy with. The many years that I had avoided painting, I had always feared that it would be too time consuming. By the end of the workshop, I had confidence that I could produce a painting in an afternoon. I’ve been painting ever since, also I had all these supplies I needed to use.
During the workshop, I also met Bill Wassenberg, who invited me to the meetings of the South Bay Watercolor Society (SBWS). It opened my eyes to a new universe of local art groups. Meeting artists, watching demonstrations, attending workshops, seeing and participating in art shows has added a whole new dimension to my life. Now, I’m newsletter editor for SBWS, and I organize an art show at the GVJCI.
Beginning with that first workshop, which included a visit to the Manzanar concentration camp, the unjustified imprisonment of people of Japanese ancestry during World War II, has been a topic of several paintings. I know many people who were impacted by this, including my mother-in-law, who I depict in my painting “Segregated.”
The people in my life, like my wife are also subjects for paintings. I show her in “Beautiful Smile,” when she was having chemotherapy. “Just Thinking” is a more recent image of her, back to full health.
Like many artists, I also love nature and depict it in many paintings. But sometimes, I want to express something more abstract like an idea or a feeling. “The Empty Space” was an expression of my grief stemming from the passing of a friend. In “Covid-Confined” I wanted to capture the sense of isolation I was feeling. My art is a vehicle to share my passions, ideas, thoughts and emotions.
Thanks to Mary and Don and that first workshop, now I know that I have art as a method of communicating and plan to use it for the rest of my life.
Education
1979 - 1981
Occidental College
1981 - 1986
California State University, Long Beach
Awards
2017
Bob Doughty Memorial Award (Best Landscape), South Bay Watercolor Society Member Show
2018
Best in Show, South Bay Watercolor Society Member Show
2020
Merchandise Award, South Bay Watercolor Society Member Show
2021
1st Place, Torrance Artists' Guild Member Show
2023
Merchandise Award, South Bay Watercolor Society Member Show
2025
Bronze Award TOCApalooza Fine Art
Exhibitions
2017
2019
2025
"South Bay Focus" - Torrance Art Museum
"CA 101" - Redondo Beach
"The Spirit of Omoide Yokocho" - Gallery of Hermosa
"Happy Hour" - Gallery of Hermosa
Curator
2017-2025
Gardena Valley Japanese Cultural Institute Annual Art Show
Newsletter Editor
2019-2022
2022-Present
Torrance Artists' Guild
South Bay Watercolor Society