{"id":2550,"date":"2018-11-29T21:26:06","date_gmt":"2018-11-29T21:26:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pagodared.com\/blog\/?p=2550"},"modified":"2021-02-17T21:41:56","modified_gmt":"2021-02-17T21:41:56","slug":"enchanted-world-yoko-tanaka","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pagodared.com\/blog\/2018\/11\/29\/enchanted-world-yoko-tanaka\/","title":{"rendered":"The Enchanted World of Yoko Tanaka"},"content":{"rendered":"

Whether she’s working with paints or pencils, artist Yoko Tanaka rarely strays from her chosen palette of soft, smoky tones that lend her pieces a hushed, otherworldly quality, and a rich undercurrent of emotion. The somber figures depicted in her works are frequently placed in spare, but fanciful settings, lending them a fabulist, folkloric air.<\/p>\n

Born and raised in Japan, Yoko earned a law degree before moving to California to attend the Art Center College of Design, in Pasadena. Post graduation, her dreamlike, atmospheric paintings quickly earned gallery attention, with numerous shows in Chicago, Los Angeles and Denver.<\/p>\n

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“Sharing” by Yoko Tanaka<\/a> | 2007 | W: 48.0″ D: 2.25″ H: 26.0″ | Oil on Wood<\/p><\/div>\n

In the oil on wood painting above, robed figures collect fruit in an orchard full of winged horses. While one of the subjects has an 1870s style high-wheel bicycle and the others ride ethereal ponies, she teases toward a rich and mysterious narrative that exists beyond the painting’s borders. Perhaps it was this very storybook quality that brought literary agents calling.<\/p>\n

“I was pursuing gallery exhibitions, painting large paintings that needed to be hung on a wall. Painting to me meant one original piece and they had to come from the depth of my feelings. This attitude changed when I was contacted by my literary agent, Steven Malk, in 2005,” explains Yoko, in the online magazine Words & Pictures<\/em>.<\/p>\n

“He suggested that I try to illustrate for children’s books. At first, I said ‘No’ to him. I thought my works were too dark for children and I wasn’t sure if I could work as an illustrator. He said, ‘No problem. I will find the right projects for you.’ He did find me the right projects and since, I’ve enjoyed working on children’s book illustrations very much.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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“Sharing” by Yoko Tanaka<\/a> at PAGODA RED gallery<\/p><\/div>\n

Since then, Yoko has continued to make a name for herself as fine artist, while becoming a sought-after visual storyteller in the world of children’s literature. Her first self-authored book was published in February 2020 by Candlewick Press. The wordless story is entitled\u00a0Dandelion Dream<\/a>.\u00a0<\/i><\/span>Among many others, Yoko has also illustrated books by Kate DiCamillo (see below), R.L. LaFevers, Karen Foxlee, Sara Pennypacker, Laura Godwin, and Keith McGowan.<\/p>\n\n\t\t