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| 3/27/13 Platinum Carbon ink, watercolor, Uniball opaque white marker, Stillman & Birn |
When Greg and I traveled to Japan in 2007, it was late-March,
and the whole country was on high cherry blossom alert. Similar to leaf peepers
on the East Coast who track the color of maples as it moves southward, the
Japanese media were reporting early sightings of the pale pink sakura blossoms
beginning on the southern end of the islands and moving northward. We had to
leave before the peak, but we still enjoyed many flowering cherries in Kyoto.
Although I’m generally observant of seasonal changes, I have
to say that I’ve become more sensitive to tiny hints of spring since I became a
sketcher. It’s been a long, wet winter as usual, and last Friday’s freakish snowstorm was a rude turn. Maybe that’s why it was such a shocking delight
to find that so many cherry trees at Green Lake had suddenly blossomed this
week. When I spotted this one (only a couple blocks north of the bare trees I sketched a week ago), I was so eager to sketch it that I slammed on the
brakes rather abruptly and probably parked a little closer to a stop sign than
was legal.
For the Japanese, the brief appearance of cherry blossoms
each spring symbolizes the fleeting bittersweetness of life. I’m not quite that
poetic or philosophical, but maybe for me, cherry blossoms symbolize the fleeting
bittersweetness of outdoor sketching weather.
Yeah, cherrie blossoms mean the spring temps are actually on their way. Nice sketch. I haven't seen any here yet, but I know when they start it will be very suddenly and catch me by surprise. Hopefully I will still be around and not in Ireland when they start to bloom. I would hate to miss them.
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