Kiyoka Kudo

Blossom in his eye (Acrylic gouache, 4.75"x3.75") | Kiyoka (Acrylic gouache, 3.75"x3.25")

Since the end of September in 2024, I have been obsessed with this story called "My Happy Marriage" by Akumi Agitogi. It all started with Shorts introducing new movies on Facebook. What caught my eye first is Miyo (a female main character) bursting into tears of appreciation after a simple comment: It's good. (meaning "Your miso soup is good."). I was like, "Wow, this character is new!" I never imagined she would cry after that, and I loved the unpredictability of it. Then, by the point when Kiyoka (a male main character) blew up the gigantic gate with only his fingers (He has supernatural power, the best in his generation!) to save Miyo, I was totally in. I googled it for more info, which led me to Netflix. After finishing season 1, I learned season 2 is coming soon in January 2025! Then the trailer!!! It made me just impatient. I bought mangas and realized it does not entirely cover Netflix season 1. Finally, I bought novels, all of them, to figure out what will happen next. Sometimes, I was up until 4:00 AM, unbelieving I had only read throught one third of it. And my copy of the new release of the book 8 is coming tomorrow! (Yay!)

That was a seriously intense period of my 2024. I was still working on several pieces to submit by the due date, but couldn't stop reading it to find out what comes next! I couldn't really think about anything else but the unrealistic, rare beauty of Kiyoka. (His long, almost transparent light ash brown hair and eyes with a hint of blue. When it comes to manga characters, I am a huge fan of long-haired guys. On top of that, an Asian with blue-tinted eyes sounds so very exotic and fascinating. How could Akumi Agitogi come up with such an idea?!)

I learned about Lover's Eye exhibition titled "Opulent Gaze" by Poetic Tiger Gallery in Boise, ID. I've never stopped loving the medieval aesthetics. And you know how I think about Kiyoka's eye! Even though it was not easy to put together my ideas while I was inevitably daydreaming, I am really satisfied with the final works. If you watched the series, Miyo made a braid cord in purple threads for Kiyoka. So I made one, actually two, for my frames. Kiyoka's eyes are always facing Miyo, and she is all about cherry blossoms. I wanted to render Miyo reflecting Kiyoka's eye even further. I know for sure she is all over his mind, so those two pieces were two ways of showing my thought. These pieces are smaller than my usual choice of size.

Last but not least, the whole process of this project was such a phenomenal inspiration and the very starting point of my "Phobia: Terrified by" series. You know, not for the "terrified" part, but for the "visual art" part.