SAKURA (ORNAMENTAL CHERRY TREE) PAINTING

In Japan the Cherry Blossom festival known as Ohanami or Flower Viewing has been an important part of the Japanese culture since ancient times. The Sakura or ornamental cherry tree has become to the Japanese a metaphor for the transience of life because of the short blooming season. They are often used in popular consumer goods such as dishware, stationary, kimonos and most importantly art. Sakura is also a very popular female name in Japan. We are paying homage to this beautiful and ancient tradition of viewing the cherry blossoms by creating our own version of a traditional Sakura painting.

For more information on the ancient as well as current cherry blossom festivals please check out these websites or visit your local library. www.arts.wa.gov/progFA.CherryBloss.facherryb2.html or wikipedia.org.

 

YOU WILL NEED:

 

White paper- Construction paper will work fine but Bristol paper is ideal

v     You can choose whichever size you prefer. We made some 8” X 10” and some smaller at 4” X 5 1/2”.

A larger decorative paper to mount the paintings on. Here is your chance to get creative.                        

v     We used a beautiful black paper textured with ridges.

v     Try oragami paper or wallpaper scraps.

v     Mount them on several different sized, patterned and solid papers.

v     These come out so beautiful you will want to frame them.

Black India ink

Tempera paint- white, pink and gold

Standard sized straw, cut in half to make 2 shorter straws

Small paint brush, size  if you have it

Paper plate for palette

Newspaper to protect table surface

White glue, glue stick or double sided tape

v     This will depend on the type of decorative paper you choose.

 

PROCEDURE:

  

  1. Lay out several layers of newspaper to protect your work surface. You will start off with the India ink, your short straw, and the white paper.
  2. The paper should be laying flat in a vertical position. Puddle up a small amount (about the size of a nickel) of the India ink using a dropper at the bottom of your white paper. Have your child blow the ink across the paper, trying to reach the top so that it will “branch” out across the surface. Have he/she blow the ends of the “branches” so they will finger out into more smaller “branches”. WARNING! If your child starts to feel dizzy or light-headed warn them to take a break and rest before continuing to blow anymore. Children will often blow as hard as they can, let them know that it is not necessary to blow so hard. Once you have blown all the branches and you are satisfied with your tree allow it to dry for a moment. Typically the ink dries pretty fast. In the mean time you can get your palette ready.
  3. On the paper plate put a small amount of the pink, white and gold tempera paint. Remind your child that the paper plate or other surface holding the paint is called a palette. Remove any soiled newspaper and put fresh paper down. Now the blossoms will be added to the cherry tree. Using the small paintbrush you will “double load” the brush, which means simply, loading two colors onto the paintbrush at once. This will add depth, texture and interest to your blossoms. After you have a touch of the pink and a touch of the white on the very tip of your brush you will dab blossoms onto the tree branches where ever you like. Some children will have a full branch of blossoms, while others may prefer a more sparing spray of flowers. Let your child decide when there are enough. They will need to continue to double load the brush as they make more blossoms.
  4. The last part of the painting will be to add a touch of gold to some or most of the flowers. The best way to do this is to have your child use the opposite end of the paintbrush. Dip the blunt end of the brush into the gold paint. Start with the blossoms you painted first as they will be a bit drier. Dot the middle of the blossoms with the gold paint. Remind them to add more paint to the end of the brush as they go.
  5. As if these Sakura paintings weren’t beautiful enough it’s now time for the finishing touch, mounting the work on to the decorative paper or papers. You can make even smaller versions of this work and make greeting cards for friends, family or favorite teachers. You will adjust the amount of ink you puddle up according to the size of your paper.