This tree caught my eyes while sauntering in California. As I observed its unique pods and hairy petals, I wanted to paint all stages of growth in one picture. To remind us that we are always growing. To help us embrace every season of life as sacred, instead of just focusing on the flowers. To remember that a beautiful flower may be hiding inside a tiny pod, waiting to burst out!

To symbolize the continual process of growth, I faded the edge of the painting in two-tone ombré. This ‘cloudy-fading’ effect is one of the unique textures that mineral pigments create.

I learned the double-brush action (see the photos below) to get ombré effect on the plant pods. Red (coral) pigments are heavier than green pigments, so they sink and separate. It’s a surprise to see how colors turn out every time.

Although the theme for this painting was “growth/change,” I kept feeling stagnant. One day while reading a devotional, I felt led to open up when God brings change in an unexpected way. So I went for it, turned the painting upside down (see the photo below), and applied many layers of dark green pigment. It added depth to the leaves, brought out the vivid red color, created a focal point, and freed a part of me that was afraid to embrace change.

Later on, I became so focused on creating depth in the leaves that the form of the flowers got lost. I used the tricky-ghostly white pigment to blur the area, let it dry, and drew red lines on top. It was a risky experiment, but thank goodness, it made the “blooming stage” of this plant stand out more. So I celebrated it by adding a little bee butt with a gold leaf. I hope that others can drink sweet nectars or carrying pollen when we bloom!

My teacher lend me the PURE GOLD pigment to stamp my name.
How to use #金泥 (kin-dei, “golden mud”):
- Use a bigger dish.
- Dump the whole packet of pigments into the dish. (If you use only a little bit, most of it will be lost during kneading.)
- Add the hide glue in very small portion at a time. (Not a spoonful like we do with other pigments.)
- Knead well.
- Dry the dish (with pigment + glue in it) on a hot plate.
- Add a tiny bit of hide glue, knead, and dry again.
- Add little water to knead into paint consistency.
- Stamp!
- After using it: pour hot water in the dish to separate the glue from pigment, dump the glue, repeat 3 times. Keep the pigment in the dish, cover it and store away until next time.

_______________________________

“Everywhere we look, complex magic of nature blazes before our eyes.” - Vincent Van Gogh