Kaz Watabe creates a tranquil, introspective world populated by whimsical characters, with muted color and heavy brushwork. His oil paintings resemble scenes out of a modern fantasy animation or story-driven video games. These images include a man with a crow head looking at a pillar of fire and a girl traveling on the back of mysterious creature. Watabe invites viewers to complete the narrative around the characters and imagine the next chapter. Watabe studied oil painting in Okinawa Prefectural University of Arts. His works have been included in many shows in Japan, New York, Taipei, and Ha Noi in Viet Nam. SEIZAN Gallery New York hosted his first NYC solo exhibition “Bucket Boy And Inchworm” in 2022.