How a Japanese Grandfather Turns Boring Excel Spreadsheets into Works of Art

For many users, Microsoft Excel is associated with an abundance of boring tables and tedious graphs. But there is a person who has broken all the stereotypes about this program. Meet Tatsuo Horiuchi, a 77-year-old artist from the Land of the Rising Sun, "drawing" detailed Japanese landscapes in Excel.

Source: ThisIsColossal

For 15 years, Japanese artist Tatsuo Horiuchi has been creating subtle details of mountain landscapes and cherry blossoms using an incredible tool — Microsoft Excel spreadsheets.

When Tatsuo Horiuchi retired, in order not to be bored, he decided to take up computer graphics. But why in Excel?

Using simple vector tools designed primarily for plotting, Horiuchi instead draws panoramas of Japanese rural life.

Tatsuo bought a computer and began to create paintings with traditional Japanese motifs: sakura in bloom, Fujiyama, pine trees, carp in a waterfall… Over the years, they have become incredibly complex. Today Tatsuo Horiuchi is a recognized master of digital art, his "canvases" win competitions and are shown at exhibitions, and he himself has opened drawing courses in Excel.