Description
May Nikko celebrates a 50-year-old Satsuki azalea cultivar known as Nikko, a bonsai that becomes particularly magnificent when in bloom. Its flowers appear in a remarkable variety of whites, pinks, reds, and variegated combinations, transforming the mature tree into an exuberant display of color.
In creating this mixed-media work, I wanted that variety to become part of the visual experience of the painting. The palette is informed by color combinations from Sanzo Wada, allowing the rich flowering canopy to interact with an equally active field of greens, golds, blues, and earth tones.
Beneath all that color is the age and structure of the bonsai itself. At approximately 50 years old, the tree has developed a substantial trunk and an elegant sense of maturity. The aged pot contributes another element of wabi-sabi—the Japanese appreciation for beauty found in age, imperfection, simplicity, and the passage of time.
Rather than placing the bonsai against a passive background, I surrounded it with layered pattern, color, and mark-making. The background brings energy to the composition while the repeated leaf forms frame the tree, creating a dialogue between the living character of the bonsai and the constructed surface of the artwork.
May Nikko is ultimately about the contrast that makes an old flowering bonsai so compelling: age and renewal, permanence and seasonal change, quiet structure and exuberant color.
Other bonsai mixed media related artwork can be found at https://www.reekersart.com/product-category/paintings/mixed-media/
Social Media
You Tube – https://www.youtube.com/ronreekers ; Here you can see me in the process of making a Bonsai related artwork
Instagram @ronreekers; Here you will see my latest Artwork and Bonsai work
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/reekersart
Patreon – https://www.patreon.com/ronreekers; Where as low as $3 month you can become a patron and get a free print on your yearly patronage.
