Wednesday, August 4, 2010

tsuyu-kusa (asiatic dayflower)


On hot summer days, the color blue can be so soothing. I picked a few stalks of tsuyu-kusa from our yard to draw for this very reason. The flowers are actually tiny. But close observation reveals how detailed they are, and in trying to capture that detail, I ended up drawing the flowers as though they had been magnified. A literal translation of the name of this plant is "dew grass." It brought to mind (especially in this heat) a verse from the book of Job: They waited for me as for the rain (29:23). I used a bamboo quill pen for the border of the image and for the words. I think the irregularities make the lines look almost as though they were formed from little drops of water.

2 comments:

  1. Love your work, DosankoDebbie! Living near Hayama and enjoyed a dish made from tsuyu-kusa shoots the other day. A web search brought me to your wonderful site. Keep up the Good work!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for visiting, and for your comment. I didn't know that tsuyu-kusa shoots were edible. I love learning things like that. My yard is full of edible wild plants, and I'm glad to learn about another. :)

      Delete