Akiko Watanabe Fine Art

Akiko Watanabe was born and raised in Japan. She studied electrical engineering, Japanese art and culture, and English, and became a professional technical translator of English and Japanese. In 1981 she moved to the San Francisco Bay Area where she and her husband share their home with their large family of rescued cats, who are often the models for her art.

Akiko was always interested in art and is self-taught in painting. Her media include acrylics, watercolor, and pastel, and her favorite subjects include cats and wildlife, sometimes with a Japanese theme.

	2nd place in Acrylic category at 37th Annual juried show hosted by Miniature Art Society of Florida, 2012
	Honorable Mention in Oils/Acrylics category at 78th Annual International Exhibition of Fine Art in Miniature hosted by The Miniature Painters, Sculptors & Gravers Society of Washington, D.C. (MPSGS), 2011
	Front cover image on BEST OF WORLDWIDE Wildlife & Animal ARTISTS VOLUME 1
	Merit award at the 3rd annual Spanish Moss Juried Miniature Art Show
	3rd place in Birds & Animals category at the 77th Annual International Exhibition of Fine Art in Miniature hosted by The Miniature Painters, Sculptors & Gravers Society of Washington, D.C. (MPSGS), 2010.
	1st place in 2009 Wildlife Art Competition at Irving Art Association in Texas
	The 23rd International Exhibition on Animals in Art at Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine, 2010
	San Mateo County Fair, San Mateo, California, in August 2009 (Five awards: Best of Show, 1st and 2nd place in Domestic Animals in Oil/Acrylic; 2nd place in Wildlife in Oil/Acrylic; 1st place in Birds in Oil/Acrylic; 1st place in Miniature Paintings)
	Finalist in BBC Wildlife Artist of the Year 2009
	2007 eBay Artist's Choice Awards (Three awards: 1st place in ACEO Animal; 2nd place in ACEO Best; Honorable mention in Large Format Animals)
	The 52nd Annual Exhibition by National Society of Painters in Casein and Acrylic, inc., in New York in July, 2005