We recently connected with Daisuke Okamoto and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Daisuke , thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

In the mid 2020, I got a call from Microsoft, and they said they were looking for a muralist for their walls. I immediately answered yes. But the covid happened. We needed to wait for till the spread of COVID-19 was lessened.
After several months later in early 2021, I got an another phone call from them, and the mural finally started. I was so excited to work on the murals. The size of 2 walls were 25’ x 18’ each and it was one of the biggest walls I had ever worked on.
Spent almost 8 weeks for designing, and 7 weeks for executing the murals.
I used a scissor lift for the first time. Painting small details on large scale.
Working with a lot of people through all progresses. I learned so many things through this project. I spent painting th walls about 6 weeks myself, but I had the deadline, my friends total about 20 friends helped me in last one week to finished the walls. I thought making art was individual before, but I realized and learned that art is teamwork.

I also thought after making the murals, I would never make it again even if I got the same time, budget, and supports because I had to push my limits to execute these gigantic murals. If you achieved some projects like this, you would see through different views from where are you were at and this made me that I want to see more new views through experiencing making murals

And after finished the murals in June 2021, Microsoft still gave me design jobs and small murals, such as chalk art for their events. In November 2021, I directly got a call from the headquarter of Microsoft. It was unusual and they asked me how I liked the surface and if I was available for next a few weeks, I told them making designs without it was impossible now and was available. In the next I was casted for new Microsoft Surface ad for 2022.
The ad was released in 5 different countries, such as the US, Germany, Australia, UK, and Japan. I saw my ad and billboard in here and Japan. All my families and relatives are in Japan, so I was so happy that I could show me and my works to all my families through the ad and medias even though we live in different counties.

Here is the Microsoft ad and interview that were released in 2022.

Microsoft surface pro 8 ad:

Interview:

In mid 2022, I set my goals for 2023 and it was making art while traveling and making a mural on a building next. I spoke it out loud to pull my wishes in real life and kept look for any opportunities.

In January 2023, I got a 50ft high building in Texas. 3 day-driving from Los Angeles to Dallas (Route 66) was very adventurous and inspiring by having different experiences and sceneries in the road.

So many new to execute this gigantic wall (50’ x 45’), such as using a 60’ boom lift, painting in the sky with the limited space, painting a large scale in freehand, and weather problems (storm and snowing), etc…
Every single moments that I encountered for this mural was extremely high challenge and great lessons.

When it’s all over, I again realized that making a mural is battle, and mural is my soul source.
Here is the documentary from the beginning to completing the mural.

And in October 2023, I came back to Dallas to do a new mural on the same building on the other side of the wall. I drove again there, and made the mural of 50’ x 25’ wall with the 60’ boom lift. Making mural always doesn’t go with the plan. Raining for 5 days, but somehow, I had to figure out and finish painting the mural.
I also made extra 5 more murals for the floor numbers from 1 to 5 at inside of a parking structure.
I also did my solo show in MSU in Wichita Falls, Texas before the murals.

Here is the short documentary of 2nd Texas art journey in October 2023.

Honestly, I never thought of that I went back to Texas this year again after making the 1st one. If you have something that you want to do and accomplish, just keep speaking it out loud and thinking of it everyday. I believe in that it might bring what you want to you if you strongly think of it.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Daisuke Okamoto’s drawing “OKAINA IMAGE” investigates the cycle of life in the complex, biomorphic narratives of the organic. Daisuke Okamoto is Los Angeles-based artist and muralist influenced by all that is sci-fi, Japanese nationalism, and psychedelic culture; Okamoto’s drawings are intricate systems of penmanship.

Born and raised in Tokyo, Japan, and currently living and working in Los Angeles. Okamoto represents the idea of the hybrid in both identity and transformation. Drawn with a passion for mark making, Okamoto employs repetitive line drawing in ink, which can take years to create a single drawing.

He has collaborated with Microsoft for their mural project and their Surface Pro 8 advertisement, which took his work into the digital world. He has also done collaborative projects with PBS KCET in Southern California in 2023. His murals are in Los Angeles, Dallas, Las Vegas, New York, Tokyo, Japan and Berlin, Germany.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

Making as many murals as I can in the world because I’m seriously thinking that art can change the world. For example, when I worked on a mural for a week or more, people who were walking by and its neighbors, started talking to me about the mural and around the area. It also brought more people.
It was a little thing, but it’s already changed there because there is a new art that people can talk about. I believe in that as you make more murals, and it also changes the world because the art can bring joy to the places.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

I think everything. I wish I knew all the skill that I have now, but that’s how life goes. You actually never know until you actually do it, but once you decide to do it, you already know you will be finish your project because you get ready for it before you start it and your passion for what you love to do driving you with high motivation. Making art is lesson, and I’m learning something new every projects. Leaning never stops. It’s one of the fun factors of making art to me.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://okainaimage.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/okainaimage
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OKAINAIMAGE
• Twitter: https://x.com/okainaimage
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@okainaimage