Setagaya Sakura

A pastel on LuxArchival paper, titled "Setagaya Sakura ". I chose the blue background to accentuate the delicate pinks.

My style does not recreate the photo, but rather to give the flowers an expression of their existence in nature. Here the delicate blooms create a chorus of hopeful exuberance, a reminder of the beauty of life in our current difficult times.

Here I created the background by smearing on soft pastels, then applying rubbing alcohol and letting it flow. Then I added the branches and then the flowers, using alcohol to blend some parts. This helped me achieve the lovely translucent effect in the flower petals.

My many thanks to @themetroclassic for allowing me to use his stunning photo as a reference. Please follow him if you love to learn about Japanese folklore and history. I highly recommend!