I was imagining a delta, and how it flows into the ocean, but at completion I could see flames, of the monsoons in Cambodia. This work was created with a smaller lotus stalk.

I started making my first lotus artwork for 2025 in late July, Siem Reap Cambodia. I was able to get suitable lotus stalks from the flower sellers outside the royal palace. These were the first lotus stalks I was able to use for my brushes this year and I commenced the piece at the hotel cafe with people on the tour we were hosting. My goal this trip was to reach the mark of 700,000 lotus impressions for my accumulative count.

I had planned to make five large works on this trip but I wanted to start with a smaller work, just to get the feel of the lotus stalk between my fingers back. I had thoughts of the monsoons and the massive ominous black clouds that were growing in volume, before the refreshing deluge. I wanted to get this feeling onto paper.

I also had some Ink, that I had made in 2018 from lotus petals collected in Battambang, that had been brewing now for seven years, mixed with gum arabic and an egg yolk. I inked the stalk and pressed it onto the paper. My first Louts impression for the year, with an aim of 13,455 more lotus impressions for this art tour I imagined the deluge and the waters flowing through the rivers and escaping at the deltas.

SIZE 57 x 31cm
22.4″ x 12.2″
lotus ink on watercolor paper
unframed

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