It has been a gorgeous spring here in Japan. The plum blossoms made a spectacular show in March, and everywhere flowers are popping up from the ground. However, the main attraction is everyone’s favorite cherry blossom tree, aka: さくら(sakura). These gnarled, old trees explode in billowy glory after the first heat wave, and after week of euphoric spring bliss, they gently shed their petals in waves of snow-like flurries. I grew up with the charming blossoming plum tree in Seattle, but it can’t compare to the majesty of the Japanese Sakura.And with all this spring beauty blooming around me, I of course had to complete my final installation of the seasonal series: Spring Kimono Kitty.
(Excuse me as I breath a HUGE sigh of relief.)I am happy how this piece turned out, yet furthermore relieve that it’s finally finished. This was one of those more difficult pieces to create. I was very happy how winter kimono kitty turned out, and therefore felt the pressure to follow-up with an equally pleasing spring counterpart, who was to don the symbol that best identifies Japan: the sakura blossom. The first attempt at drawing spring kimono kitty was unsuccessful, and I had to redo the entire drawing and pose. I also had several other projects whose deadlines were clamoring to be finished, and therefore left little breathing room to allow creativity to easily flow. I eventually found my groove, and settled in to painting while listening to my audiobook. And after 20 hours from starting over again, I finally finished her. As the Japanese would say, やった！(I did it!) :)
All four seasons!!
So what’s next now that all four seasons are finished? Well, I’m considering doing another summer kimono kitty since I’ve grown and learned so much since then, though I’m also tossing around the idea of doing a series of Japanese male cats donning samurai, ninja, and other traditional Japanese men’s attire. What are your thoughts?For now though, I think I’m going to take a nap under a sakura tree and get covered in petals. またね！~.^