Is This Tik Tok Artist Really ‘Bob Ross of Japan’? See the Gentle Painting Videos That Made Harumichi Shibasaki an Unlikely Star
Thanks to internet platforms like TikTok and YouTube, this Japanese man has found fame around the world for his tutorials.
news.artnet.com
Move over Bob Ross, there’s a new lovable painting teacher taking the Internet by storm. A white-haired Japanese man named Harumichi Shibasaki has taken social media by storm with a series of low-key how-to art videos featuring a variety of materials including colored pencils, crayons, and watercolors.
Like his bushy haired American predecessor, Shibasaki is intent on helping viewers find the joy in painting, which he describes as “soothing” on his internet channel. Shibasaki has been slowly and steadily building his audience for some time, reports Japan’s The Mainichi—but he has accumulated millions of page views in recent weeks.
On YouTube, his most popular video is “5min Easy Watercolor: Tree Painting Tutorial,” where he, as the title suggests, conjures a tree in five minutes in watercolor. The combination of his gentle voice and the low-key music behind it makes for a restful watch.
