Get to know our cover artist, asahi nagata

Tell us a bit about yourself, please. My name is Asahi, which means ‘sunrise’ in Japanese. I’m a freelance illustrator born in Sapporo, Japan, and now based in Minneapolis, USA. When I’m not at work, I’m usually hanging out with my two-year-old daughter, Ichiko.

How would you describe your art? I’m fascinated by printmaking techniques such as risograph, screenprinting and linocut – my work is a bit of each but in digital form. I learnt how to mimic this retro print texture from working at a design firm and doing vintage-print restoration work for five years. Like with traditional printing methods, I usually limit myself to only three colours in my illustrations. What kind of materials do you use? I make most of my work digitally using Adobe Photoshop. I also like to use acrylic gouache.

What inspired your cactus illustration? I made this to celebrate Mother’s Day in 2020. I had my daughter at the end of 2019, and 2020 was a challenging year for myself and many other parents. I chose cactus flowers because the cactus is a very strong plant – it can thrive in harsh conditions and represents endurance, no matter how hard things are. It’s also a symbol of unconditional, maternal love. The many kinds of cacti in the artwork represent the idea that you can be a parent in many different ways. Where can we see more of your stuff? Online at illoirro.com or on Instagram at @asahinagata.