02/05/2026
Hello, my name is Kanae Kwan. I am a Japanese artist inspired by nature 🌿
I was born in Nagasaki and raised in Gifuーsurrounded by mountains, crystal-clear rivers, and rice fields that I passed each day on my walk to school. Nature was always a part of my life.
From a young age, I found a love for drawing and painting, and I spent years developing my skills at a local art studio. Still, I never imagined art could become my path, so I followed a more conventional route—studying hard and later working at an IT venture company in Tokyo. However, life eventually brought me to the United States, where I reconnected with both nature and my creative voice.
I’m raising 2 children and I spent a lot of time in nature with them, especially when they were younger. Seeing nature through their eyes, full of wonder, deepened that connection and offered me a new perspective - one filled with presence, sensitivity, and quiet appreciation.
When I learned that El Dorado Nature Center in Long Beach, our weekday hiking spot, offers gallery space to local artists, something clicked. It was then that I chose to fully dedicate myself to creating art inspired by nature 🎨
Through my work, I hope to share the feelings I experience in nature: moments of calm, wonder, and quiet happiness—the kind you feel when you pause, take a breath, and simply exist within a landscape.
