As I am continuing my doodling, I couldn't help but be reminded of the tidbits of trivia relating to Lotus.
Lotus plant has many uses, besides its beauty. Lotus root (actually the rhizome) is often sliced and used in stir fry dishes in Chinese restaurants. Sometimes the whole rhizome is stuffed with rice and other goodies and steamed and then sliced up before serving. The dried rhizome can be milled to flour and used like corn starch, which can be cooked as a sweet broth with Longan and red prunes, a popular dessert drink. The nodes of the rhizome when mashed is used to treat nosebleed.
The lotus seed, or Lianzi (蓮子) is a homonym for the Chinese phrase which means "a succession of sons" (連子) thus is often used as an auspicious garnish in weddings. The lotus seed heart (germ) is very bitter and is used as a tea or tonic for its "fire lowering" property; in other words, less Yang.
The leaves of the lotus plant are used as wrappings for food preparation. The popular dim sum dish of Lo Mai Gai or Lotus Leaf Rice is one such example. Another famous dish, the Begger's Chicken uses the leaves to wrap the whole chicken before encasing it in clay and baked. The leaves impart a fragrance to the food inside.
Culturally speaking, Lotus is the national flower of India and Vietnam. The Guanyin bodhisattva is portrayed as standing or sitting on a lotus bed holding a lotus flower in her hand. The famous Big Buddha sculpture in Hong Kong shows the Buddha resting on a bed of lotus blossoms.
Lotus represents the virtues of purity, resiliency and transformation. It's self-explanatory when such beauty emerges from a muddy bog. I personally think that any painting of lotus should bear those thoughts in mind. Whimsical versions of lotus paintings trivialize the reverence of this flower, regardless of how artistic or innovative they might be. This is just my own cultural bias.
I suppose one way to adhere to the traditional ways of interpreting the flower is to recall all the rote learning notes from yesteryears. Don't re-invent the wheel.
Lines are used to depict petals, with the tip of the petals darkened to emphasize pointed tips.
Side tip brushstrokes are used in this version to describe the petals. The brush is loaded with white and crimson at the tip of the brush to facilitate the natural transition of the hues.
Trying out different brushstroke speeds to try to show various personalities. The brush does not lie. It most definitely will reveal if one is gingerly and methodically laying down a brushstroke or doing it with aplomb and a free spirit.
In the end I am rewarded with something that when cropped perhaps is worth a spot on my walls.
I have 2 choices,
or
I settled for the portrait format, although I do like the landscape format too. It has an interesting perspective of the leaves.
I have a shadow box which I had intended for displaying my carved calligraphy on spaghetti squash, but it is too shallow. I am going to use it for my lotus painting.
My doodling housed in a shadow box,
