Born in Japan in 1937, Watanabe worked as an actor and then as an advertising film director. While studying color techniques in California, he fell in love with America and eventually moved to San Francisco.
He began painting, discovered he truly enjoyed it and found a ready market for his works once he began showing his art, prints and posters locally. His inspirations include Norman Rockwell, Grandma Moses and Grant Wood.
Watanabe calls himself a "precisionist". His vivid colors and whimsical details translate perfectly to serigraph art, prints and posters. Collectors all over the world enjoy his interpretation of the New England countryside which he loves to visit.