Coming Soon Sakuranami, Sakura Wave 2

I'm back in Southeast Asia, collaborating with my friend's small wedding card company in Hue, Vietnam, to finish the sequel to Sakura Wave, named Sakuranami. This new project incorporates embossing with traditional hot foil stamping, a method that embeds the foil into the paper using heat. Achieving perfect alignment between the art and foil is quite challenging due to the intricate hot plate and artwork. I spent several weeks on Koh Phi Phi island creating the art, finding the flow of the lines, and trying to balance the difficult perspective of looking back over the wave as it barrels on past and capturing the pattern of the wave's power underwater. Why do I draw Sakura (Cherry Blossoms) and waves? I'm not sure. I once painted a Samurai wielding a sword under falling Sakura, titled Under the Blossoms. This, along with painting my temple-like waves, led to the creation of a pleasing design featuring a ocean waves and Sakura blossoms, full of movement and colors. There is also the yin and the yang, the hard and soft, above and below at play in the design.The gold foil lines with the shifting light reminds me of electrisity, embodying the ocean's chi and mana.

Enjoy,

Troy Carney

Available mid-August, limited edition of 500.