Lotus

13 August 2017 ● 1 min read ● 1 image

23cm x 30 cm Watercolor, ink, on watercolor paper.

Summer in Japan is full of colourful visual stimuli, from matsuri yukata to the vibrant greens of the jungle that seems to creep out of hiding through the cracks in the city every year.

The curves and colours of the midsummer lotus, in particular, have their own special force of inspiration. The heavy lines of each petal look as if they were drawn with some pink celestial crayon, and each flower sits like a fearless princess amidst the gargantuan leaves spreading out for every last greedy centimetre of photosynthesis possible.

The aesthetic of the lotus (we haven't even touched upon those enticing pods!) drove me to start sketching the lines of this piece, and the cicada-daze and thoughts of the otherworldly Obon-returns of summer helped bring this figure to the surface of the lotus pond.

This original piece is currently display in a duo exhibition in Kiyosumishirakawa (Check the Canvas events section)

Postcards of this image and others are available on my webstore: http://ewardillustration.storenvy.com

Lastly, a new accomplishment of mine is a coloring book that allows "colorists" to add their own vision to 11 of my original line artworks. This image, "Lotus," is the cover design of the coloring book, and also one of the 11 designs within the book. It's been a labor of love creating this coloring book, and I would love if the canvas community would like to check it out:

http://ewardillustration.storenvy.com/products/21057368-illustration-coloring-book-hana

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About Erica

Erica Ward

I'm an artist in Tokyo, Japan

Pen and watercolor illustrator from the redwood forests of California now exploring the cement forest of Tokyo. Forever inspired by Japan.

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