Shinji Ogata was born in Yatsushiro City (Kumamoto Prefecture), Japan, in 1965. After graduating from high school, He lived in Tokyo for about 20 years before moving to Brisbane in 2004.

The most exciting subjects for him to draw or paint are human figures or other organic subjects, but he also enjoys painting other things such as landscapes and buildings, because even though they are inorganic substances, he naturally tries to find the soul within them.

Shinji mainly uses pen and water colours. He loves this one-take finish style and enjoys the kind of improvisation it entails; it is also a very important aspect of his art.

He would like to keep searching for, and discovering, little pieces of the secret of this world’s aesthetic mysteries through his drawing tour of life.