1956年生まれ　滋賀県在住　2004年から『やまなみ工房』に所属 刺繍をしていた彼女はある時、共に過ごす仲の良いメンバーが楽しげに活き活きと絵画に没頭する姿を目にした事を機に、作品制作に取り組むようになる。畳2畳分ほどの画用紙を前に、当初は不安そうに絵に向かっていたが、周囲の評価や関わりが徐々に彼女の自信へと繋がっていく。モチーフは人物が主で写真集や雑誌を見てイメージを作る。色鉛筆で全体像を描き、パステルで塗った箇所を掌で丁寧に伸ばし、更に上から塗り重ねた色彩は彼女の創作意欲と共に深みを増していく。

born in 1956/ living in Shiga/ at YAMANAMI since 2004 Mutsumi Tanaka used to make embroideries. But one day, as she saw her best friends drawing and painting happily, she decided to start drawing, too. At first, she was unsure about what she was doing. But gradually and with the help of others, she gained confidence in her own ability. She draws mainly people on a big sheets of paper－as large as two tatami mats. Matsumi Tanaka finds her inspiration in magazines and picture books, where she picks the image she will use for her artworks. She uses color pencils to draw the outlines. After coloring with a pastel, she rubs the result with her finger and spreads it on the paper. Then she chooses another pastel to color over it, and she repeats the process. Her technique gives her work a warm and a special charm.