This is my latest entry for Tip Top's contest. The theme was "Flowers" and the colors we were allowed to use were pink, purple, maroons and nudes and green for leaves. I'm not very fond of flowers so, the first thing that came to my mind were Cherry Blossom Trees, which have cute, discreet flowers and represent spring, in Japan.
For the Chinese the cherry blossom is a very significant symbol of power. Typically it represent a feminine beauty and sexuality and often holds an idea of power or feminine dominance. Within the language of herbs and herbal lore of the Chinese the cherry blossom is often the symbol of love.
For the Japanese the cherry blossom holds very different meaning. The cherry blossom is a very delicate flower that blooms for a very short time. For the Japanese this represents the transience of life. This concept ties in very deeply with the fundamental teachings of Buddhism that state all life is suffering and transitory. The Japanese have long held strong to the Buddhist belief of the transitory nature of life and it is very noble to not get too attached to a particular outcome or not become emotional because it will all pass in time.
You can read more about them here: Sakura.
I used only two shades of pink, one from Avon and one from Maybeline Colorama and combined them to obtain other shades and I combined a bit of blue, for the light purple background.
I drew the branches with a thin brush and I used the dotting tool to create the flowers.
Enjoy! ^_^
