Yumi Iwamura 

Scarsdale Art Association's "Artist of the Month"

Yumi Iwamura, a fine artist and member of the Scarsdale Art Association, recently completed a month-long solo exhibit of her work at the Scarsdale Library.  She was selected to be the association's featured "Artist of the Month".  An account of her life and her art appears below.

 My Life and My Art

My Life

I have loved art since I was a six-year old growing up in Japan, drawing people in a small note book.  At age twelve, a birthday gift of oil paints, sealed my love of painting, and of art.

Longing to study art, and paint people, I settled for still life painting lessons, on Sunday afternoons, from a neighborhood artist.  Continuing with art during my marriage, when raising my children in Australia, however, my art had to take a back seat.  

In the early 80’s the family moved to New York, and upon my arrival here, I joined the Scarsdale Art Association, and have been a member ever since.

After a four-year study of figure painting at SUNY Purchase, I had my first solo show at The Leahey Gallery in Scarsdale.  That year, 1988, was the Year of the Dragon, -my birth year.  It was then that, I decided to have a solo show in every Dragon Year, (every 12 years), - and I did. This most recent show at the Scarsdale Library was my third solo show.

My Art

Born and raised in Japan, my art is very personal and unique in its expression.  It is a blend of East and West, - both subtle and bold at the same time.  

I love the interplay of light and shadow:  the sun’s rays that make leaves transparent and apples vibrant. or shadows that reveal subtle hues in skin tones.   This waltz of nature and human form inspires me and keeps me at my canvas.

Composition too is important, and challenging in my work.  Deciding what to include, or eliminate, makes the difference between an ordinary painting, and one that sings with color, movement and poetry.  When I paint, I see beauty in every object; try to be at one with it, and to enhance this beauty on the canvas.

A famous Japanese artist, Yuhki Ogura, active until age 94 said;  “Artists bring out their inner selves on canvas, therefore their works are their self portraits”.  By showing my work, I reveal myself.   If my paintings give comfort and joy to viewers, I am at peace, and very, very happy.

Art continues to be an evolving piece of my soul, and I feel fortunate to know that I can continue to paint and be a part of the art community, however small my role, for as long as I live.

.