Today we’d like to introduce you to Andew Sakamoto.
Hi Andew, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I started pursuing art after moving to Leander, TX from Oakland, CA in November, 2023. My intent was to live closer to my parents and two sisters, but I was also looking for something new in terms of a career. I saved up money having worked as a senior water treatment operator for a little over 7 years, and wanted to invest in myself as an artist. I had always loved drawing as a child. I grew up on cartoons, anime, and comics which I now use as inspiration for my art.
I was crashing at my parents house in the suburbs, driving back and forth to Austin. I spent time researching galleries and art collectives in the city that curated shows that I felt a connection to. One of the first stops I visited was actually Bolm Arts, where I now have my art studio. I went to many exhibition openings and group shows to get an idea of the community. Austin felt like the perfect place to explore my creative side.
The only problem was that I didn’t know how to paint. The past few years I’d been using an Ipad for illustration and animation during free moments on the night shift at the water plant, but I had grown sick of staring at a screen for hours on end. In Leander, I started teaching myself how to paint while searching for opportunities to show work. I dabbled in acrylic medium first, and found myself working with oil paint after taking a short portrait class at “Atelier Dojo”. It’s a nonstop endeavor, learning art; both technique and career, but I make sure not to take it too seriously, and enjoy the journey.
I also attended markets around town for research purposes. My arrival to Austin seemed to coincide with a peak in pop-up market popularity. In my opinion the buzz around markets is dying down now, but at the time, these pop-ups were everywhere. I ended up applying to two: “Pancakes and Booze” at The Far Out Lounge and “Asian Season” at Austin Beerworks. These events had temporary walls to hang art on. By then, I had cranked out about ten finished works to show. Though the experience was great and it was something new, I decided it wasn’t the direction I wanted to pursue. Fine art doesn’t function well in that setting.
I then found myself in a group show, about a month later, with “The Gallery” at Future Front House to display curated works with the theme “Transcendent Reality”. A friend I met at an art opening had recommended I apply, as the theme fit my work at the time, and I was accepted. My work has a somewhat mystic depiction of flowers and nature in an anime aesthetic, set against the backdrop of technological advancements. My color choices are often influenced by digital RGB computer screen displays. Painting felt like an escape from all the suffocating social media and phone rubish, but it still retained that “digitized” look.
I continued to build up a collection of artwork. Overall, I had no idea what I was doing or where I was going with it all. I was painting mostly flowers and was searching for a path forward. I ended up participating in my second group show at Cloud Tree Gallery in the summer of 2024. It was another great experience showing my work in public and meeting new people. It feels difficult to get your foot in the art world door. I think that group shows are a great way to do just that, but finding opportunities to share your work publicly and having a sustainable art career are two very different things.
From the outset, the idea was to give myself around two years to become established. I knew very well that making art requires many resources, and that my budget wouldn’t last forever. I had a couple sales under my belt from a great art show organized by TVHeadATX and Loria Mendoza called “Art Under $100”, but that’s a drop in the bucket. I needed something to propel me as an artist. That’s around the time I saw an instagram post about an art studio in East Austin at Bolm Arts for rent. I was accepted and signed the lease immediately. Bolm Arts is a collective of artists of different styles and mediums. It has a DIY feel where artists can organize and curate monthly exhibitions in a shared dedicated gallery space. I moved in all of my art supplies, desk, couch, and was off to the races. Within the collective is a wealth of knowledge to tap into. They foster a supportive and inclusive environment for artists to learn from each other. I wasted no time getting involved, first, with simple things I could do like cleaning and painting walls. I’ve learned so much from Stephanie Mervine, Amanda Fay, and Steef Crombach, to name a few.
From there, I found myself at every Bolm Arts show helping out where I could. I participated in my first East Austin Studio Tour in November. Josh House and I co-curated our duo art exhibition, “Time-Endearing” in December. I was starting to understand how an art space functions. I took the information that I had learned at Bolm with me to Luke and Abbie, who I had met soon after moving to Texas.
Abbie owns Blumen Floral, a floral business right next to Cheri Coffee and Flowers, a walk up coffee shop run by her husband Luke and his brother Amos. I would get coffee there and buy flowers to paint whenever I was in the area, right off of Burnet road. We had been talking about an art show in Abbie’s flower workshop where I could curate something flower-themed. Initially I had ambitions to do a solo show, or another duo show. After some thought, I decided on a group show. I liked the idea of having Bolm Arts members and other artists that I had met at various stages of my journey, in the same space showing their interpretation of floral art.
After a grueling month of organizing, prepping and installing, the show was a great success. Thirteen artists came together to show paintings, ceramics, and sculptural work. Abbie even created special bouquets for three of the custom-made vases. I had vendors and musicians: Sinta, Grandpa’s Glizzys, Asados Taqueria, Flowertops, and DJ Bean. It genuinely felt like a celebration with friends. I ended up partnering with Bolm Arts to help with promotional content and gift shop work. It was the first show outside of our studio space, and we plan to incorporate this type of event in the future.
I still don’t know what is in store for me and my art, or if I’ll be able to turn this passion of mine into a career, but I’m certain that I’ll have no regrets pouring my heart into it. I’ve been met with so much positivity and support from the community. I’m honored to have these wonderful people and artists in my life, and to call some of them my friends. I’m slated to do a mural in Georgetown in the coming months, and will be partaking in The Other Art Fair Dallas in May.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Most of my obstacles are based around uncertainty. What direction to take, and what is a good fit for me. There are so many options to choose from when it comes to being an artist.
Otherwise, the biggest challenge is making sales/income. I’ve been lucky to get a lot of the opportunities that I apply for, which helps me keep going. As long as I’m making progress, I can continue to motivate myself.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I specialize in flower painting. My focus on light and motion in an anime style set me apart from other painters. I bring a more modern approach to the work. I also have a pretty distinct drawing style. I’m messy and scribble. I’m unafraid of my creativity, so I feel like that gives me an advantage when experimenting with new techniques.
I’m currently mixing my illustration style with my painting style by using charcoal and acrylic on unprimed cotton canvas. It feels like something that I can play around with a little more freely.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
I like how friendly people are and open to conversation. Meeting viewers in my studio is one of my favorite things to do. The talks are always fun and personal.
I don’t like the weather here. It’s been pretty hard adjusting, having grown up in California. I’ve since learned that it’s difficult to have art shows in the summer when no one wants to go outside unless it involves swimming.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://andewsakart.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andewsak/
Image Credits
Olivia Maaghul
