The computer software Excel is usually used to calculate data and make statistical charts. It is one of the essential software in the office. However, there is an 80-year-old man in Japan “Tatsuo Horiuchi” who makes use of this software for painting. After retirement, he wanted to learn painting. But due to his frugal nature, he decided to use Excel software on his computer to create stunning landscape paintings with a level of detail comparable to the works produced by professional drawing software which needed to be purchased. Horiuchi Tatsuo not only held an exhibition of paintings but also won an award in a painting competition and was even known as the “Michelangelo of Excel.”
Born in 1940, “Horiuchi Tatsuo” was originally an engineer. But after retiring in 2000, he decided to start a new life, that is, learning to paint. He was fond of painting from a young age. After retirement, he signed up for training courses to improve his painting standards, but the high tuition fees and painting materials made it difficult for him to persist. He was reluctant to spend money on painting materials and was unwilling to spend money on drawing software, so he asked young people whether there was any way to paint without spending money. He was told to try using “Word” or “Excel.”
After repeated attempts, he finally chose Excel because Excel is not limited by paper size, has many tools, and has a higher degree of creative freedom than Word. He explored different techniques using Excel’s basic functions, such as colour blocks, lines, and filling, to draw flowers, vegetables, fruits, etc., and then tried to combine patterns into one painting. With the progress of painting skills, he even explored using Excel to paint light and shadow. Living in Nagano Prefecture, Japan, the beauty of mountain villages became his inspiration.
He conducts classes on how to use Excel’s “AutoShape” graphics drawing function to draw various landscape paintings. In 2006, he participated in the Japan Excel Auto Graphics Art Contest and won the championship. After that, his works were displayed in personal exhibitions and collected and exhibited by the Gunma Art Museum in Japan.
In recognition of his paintings and contributions to the community, the Japanese Cabinet Office has awarded him the Medal of Honor. Please enjoy some of his computer-generated artwork.
Tan It Koon
Before retirement, Dr Tan It Koon was, among many appointments, Head of Clinical Biochemistry at SGH’s Dept of Pathology. He was the Deputy Chairman of the National Theatre Trust and Chairman for Grants and Scholarships of the Spore Cultural Foundation. He received the National Day Awards, PBM, and PPA, for his contribution to cultural and community development and excellence in Public Administration.
