Artists Magazine - USA (2020-01 & 2020-02)

ArtistsNetwork.com 57

stratoris
edtovisu-
a concept
bringit to
throughhis
k.Artist
ryMiura,
whobegan
ustrator,
creditsthistrainingforhisunique
approachtohissubjectmatter.Instead
ofstartingwitha referenceimage,
hebeginseachpaintingwithanidea,
emotionormemory—andthenlooks
fora waytobestcommunicateit.

GettingStarted
MiuraattendedArtCenterCollegeof
Design,inPasadena,Calif.,wherehe
admiredtheworkofAmericanartists
HarryCarmean,RichardBunkalland
DwightHarmon,aswellasmany
Americanillustratorsfromthe1970s
and’80s.Onhisfirstnightofclass,
hewatchedveteranillustratorJack
Leynnwooddemonstratethediffer-
encebetweenformshadowandcast
shadow.Miurawashooked.After
graduatingwitha degreeinillustra-
tion,hemovedtoNewYorkCityto
“payhisdues”asa freelanceillustrator.
Inthe1990s,Miuraworkedpri-
marilyasaneditorialillustratorona
rangeofmagazines,booksandbook
jackets.Heusedearlyversionsof
Photoshoptocreatedigitalcollages
ofgrittyimageryforprojectsthat
oftenfocusedoncrime,socialissues
andotherheavysubjectmatter.He
wasdrawntothemoody,textural
qualitiesoftheseassignmentsand
remainedfocusedonthesevisual
themesashetransitionedfrom
illustratortofull-timepainterafter
almosttwodecades.

Honoringan

EmotionalResponse
NewYorkCityofferedanenviron-
mentripeforthetypeofemotion

and feeling Miura wanted to depict in his paintings.

“I used to walk around New York City and feel this

sense of anxiety because I didn’t know what the harsh

environment would bring,” he says, “but it was a com-

fortable kind of anxiety because I was used to it. It was

always there.” He was attracted to how the myriad pos-

sibilities that the city offered worked in contrast to the

frenzied need to fight for what one wants. Those

nuanced and often conflicting emotions inspired the

murky, hazy and powerful qualities in Miura’s paintings

of urban environments.

After six years in New York City, Miura moved back

to California, where he has lived in Pasadena and

Berkeley; he now resides in Sacramento. “I’ve always

found living in cities to be exciting and full of possibil-

ity,” he says. “Cityscapes are complex. Because there are

so many elements in a typical urban scene, it’s extremely

ABOVE

Private Lives

oil on linen, 36x24

OPPOSITE

A Day in the City

oil on linen, 48x48