Cherry blossom branch, painted with ink and watercolour on square format rice paper. Inspired by the beautiful images of cherry trees in Toronto High Park, highlighted by cool spring skies. Cherry trees in High Park were first planted in the 50-s by the Japanese ambassador to Canada. Over the following decades, more Japanese sakura trees were presented and planted throughout High Park. Remarkably, the cherry trees survived, forming clusters and alleys of shimmering pink and white flowers, every year without fail. 

Materials and symbolism: this artwork is painted with Japanese handmade ink and Japanese watercolours. The ink stick is made by a small family-run ink making business in Japan, with a 400-year history of ink-making. Sumi ink has a cool bluish-greyish tint - it comes from soot, collected after burning pine or vegetable oil. Japanese watercolours have very vivid pigments, the cherry blossoms turned out very bright, yet transparent. 

Cherry blossoms are a national flower of Japan, they are a symbol of spring and fleeting beauty. Sakura viewing is an annual event, popular throughout Japan and in many countries. This painting is a tribute to the beauty of spring and cherry blossoms.

The artwork is signed, sealed with artist's personal seal, wet-mounted on backing paper and ready to be framed or mounted on a scroll. Please use acid-free materials when framing. It is manually cut, please leave a few mm error margin for dimensions. Note that colours may differ due to differences in devices.