, real name , is a

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

and

illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicate ...

born on November 10, 1951, in Haboro,

Hokkaidō Prefecture is the second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by railway via the Seikan Tunnel. The ...

, Japan. He is best known for his

watercolor Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (Commonwealth English; see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin 'water'), is a painting metho ...

paintings of young girls and children. Ōta has multiple books in print which collect his works, and he has created illustrations for magazines, books, calendars, and posters, and has had multiple one-man exhibitions. He currently lives in Izu,

Shizuoka Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Shizuoka Prefecture has a population of 3,555,818 and has a geographic area of . Shizuoka Prefecture borders Kanagawa Prefecture to the east, Yamanashi Pref ...

Biography

Ōta was born in Haboro,

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

on 10 November 1951. He graduated from Hokkaido Bifuka High School. After moving to

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

to work as a freelance

interior designer Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. With a keen eye for detail and a Creativity, creative flair, an ...

, he taught himself to paint and began doing work as an illustrator. In 1981, he won the Best Work Award at the 1st Poetry and Fairy Tale Illustration Contest sponsored by

Sanrio is a Japanese entertainment company. It designs, licenses, and manufactures products focusing on the ''kawaii'' ("cute") segment of Japanese popular culture. Their products include stationery, school supplies, gifts, and Fashion accessory, a ...

. He won the 12th Sanrio Fine Arts Award in 1986. In 1992, Ōta held his first series of exhibitions at department stores in every major city in Japan. This has become a regular event since then. He held a nationwide exhibit tour at five locations throughout Japan in 1995. Due to over 600,000 people attending the exhibits, the exhibit had to be extended to accommodate the additional attendees. Ōta established his home page in 2000 for the 20th anniversary of his professional debut. In 2001, he held an exhibit at the

Yokohama is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...

Sogō Fine Arts Gallery, and in 2002, exhibits were held at the Sakai Takashimaya and Matsuyama Takashimaya department stores.

Works

Book collections

*, (1983,

) *, (1983, Sanrio) *, (1985,

Hakusensha is a Japanese publishing company. It is headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo. The company mainly publishes manga magazines and is involved in series' productions in their games, original video animation, music, and their animated TV series. The com ...

) *, (1986, Sanrio) *, (1987, Hakusensha) *, (1988, Sanrio) (1995 reissue, Sanrio) *, (1989, Hakusensha) *, (1989, Sanrio) (1994 reissue, Sanrio) *, (1991, Hakusensha) *, (1991, Sanrio) *, (1991, Pinpoint) (1998 reissue, Sanrio) *, (1992, Hakusensha) *, (1992, Sanrio) *, (1993, Sanrio) *, (1995,

Movic is a Japanese company which specializes in the publication of trading cards, figures, CDs, and other general media related to the anime industry. Movic is a part of the Animate (retailer), Animate group. Anime involved in *''Oh My Goddess!, Ah ...

) *, (1995, Sanrio) *, (1997, Sanrio) *, (1998, Hakusensha) *, (2004, Aiikusha) Sources:

CD-ROM collections

* (Macintosh/Windows hybrid, 1995-04-18, Lits Compute)

Awards and recognition

*1981 - Best Work Award at the 1st Poetry and Fairy Tale Illustration Contest sponsored by

*1986 - Winner of the 12th Sanrio Fine Arts Award Ōta was featured as the cover artist on several issues of '' Moe'', a monthly art and illustration magazine published in Japan by

since 1984. *October 1983, cover of , the predecessor magazine to ''Moe'' *May 1984, also featured as the illustrator of a serialized fairy tale by

Yōko Inoue Yoko may refer to: People and fictional characters * Yoko (name), a Japanese feminine given name; variants include Yōko and Yohko, including a list of people and Japanese fictional characters (for non-Japanese characters, see the Arts and ente ...

and the monthly calendar included in the magazine *October 1984 *July 1985 *January 1986

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ota, Keibun 1951 births Japanese contemporary artists Japanese illustrators People from Hokkaido Japanese portrait painters Living people Japanese watercolourists