Matisse's Yellow

Looking at sunflowers, the flowers of July, I'm reminded of Matisse's paintings. Perhaps it's because, like the yellow of sunflowers, the yellow Matisse painted makes viewers feel bright and cheerful.

In many of his works, such as the representative paintings "The Joy of Life," "Blue Still Life," "The Red Studio: Harmony in Red," and "Woman Reading with Black Background," yellow is used as a crucial accent. Yellow also features prominently in his late-career paper cut-outs like "Mimosa" and "One Thousand and One Nights." I'm sure I'm not alone in feeling that "happiness" resides in every shade of yellow he used. His clean, warm yellow is a color that makes people feel the "joy of life." In "Matisse: The Artist's Notebooks" (Misuzu Shobo), he stated, "What I dream of is an art of balance, of purity and serenity, devoid of troubling or depressing subject matter... an art which could serve as a soothing mental balm for the man who works in the city, for, in his case, I believe that it is a need for him to rest his eyes." (Omitted in text)

Around the end of my twenties, I encountered this book and strongly felt that I wanted to create makeup that could make people feel happy. Looking back now, I believe that desire became the foundation of my work.

Like Matisse's yellow, I wonder if what I create brings happiness to others. Perhaps it's something I'll never be certain of in my lifetime, but I remind myself to never forget the desire to achieve it.