Lotus plant

My newest painting on paper is entitled “Lotus plant” (previously “Life span of the Lotus plant”). In this art work, I focused on filling the sheet of paper, which I rarely do, preferring to incorporate the colour of the paper as part of the piece of art. I have layered a variety of colours and repetitive images to create depth. I have also used colour and black tones to balance each other.

At the bottom of the painting, I painted a dark layer representing the murkiness of the bottom sediment.

Above that is a beautiful, vibrant purple and golden Lotus, with bits of the sediment floating over the petals. I also included smaller Lotuses in shades of pinks and oranges, which almost look like butterflies. The green leaves of the plant are encompassing the beautiful flower. In the middle of the painting are the seeds of the plant, some which are dark and did not succeed in surviving, others that are alive and colourful. The living seeds are drifting down toward the opaque water at the bottom of the painting. At the top, I have painted a dying Lotus flower, which has lost it’s colour and is beginning to decay.

This painting was done using airbrush techniques, both free hand and with various cut stencils. I use Golden acrylic paints and a small air compressor.

The life cycle of the Lotus plant begins when a Lotus seed settles into the soil at the bottom of a river or a warm pond. Through the murky water, the new shoot reaches up to the light, with the leaves floating on the surface of the water and the beautiful Lotus flower rising several centimetres above the water. As it is growing, the plant filters and purifies the water, eventually making it transparent. A traditional saying states that the muddier and cloudier the water is to start with, the more beautiful the Lotus flower is when it develops.