Miyuki Tanobe

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Miyuki Tanobe, C.M., O.Q., A.R.C. (born 1937 in Morioka, Japan) is a Canadian painter.

She immigrated to Canada in 1971, settling in Saint-Antoine-sur-Richelieu, Quebec with her husband Maurice Savignac.

She paints in nihonga, an old form of Japanese painting performed directly on the floor. She has a unique style which could be described as pseudo naïve. Many Canadian museums have copies of her work, and are actively looking for the chance to acquire others. Her paintings are sought by many galleries and she and her works have been the subject of many studies and documentaries, in text, in documentaries movies, and in television specials. Her style and technique are taught in several Quebec universities and in New England.

She started to learn painting in her native land at the age of 11 under the Japanese master Itaru Tanabe. After getting a diploma in child and adult education from the Tokyo University of Fine Arts in 1959, she studied Nihonga under grand master Maeda Seison. In 1963 she went on to study at the Ecole supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris. She also spent some time refining her style in Greece and in Africa, before ending up in Quebec. Her culture and sophistication are apparent in the way she treats perspective and human emotion.

Most of her works are depictions of events or typical scenes of daily life in Quebec. They show cityscapes, townscapes and a few rural happenings. Nearly all of them are filled with joy. The people in them are very living, the colors are cheerful and the buildings are strangely realistic.

She has also illustrated books by famous Quebec authors.

She has received many awards including being made a Member of the Order of Canada in 2002 and being made an Officer of the National Order of Quebec in 1995.