The Snake And The Cherry Blossom

The Snake and the Cherry Blossom is an artwork I was working on in the second half of last year and is a piece filled with symbolism.

I know snakes aren’t everyone’s favorite creature, and they can have a bad reputation symbolically, but that isn’t always the case, and it certainly isn’t true here.

This beautiful beastie symbolises healing and rebirth. The shedding of old skin, old identities, old ways of thinking, old ways of being, and old habits.

It represents the healing of old wounds of all kinds. Letting go of what no longer serves us and emerging shiny and new, ready to embrace what lies ahead.

In Celtic symbolism the snake can represent the idea of the creation process.

Cherry blossoms symbolise renewal, new beginnings, and hope. Looking forward and starting again.

They are also a flower that means a lot to me. In the back garden of my childhood home stood a cherry blossom tree that would be covered with beautiful pink flowers every spring and the cover the grass with a blanket of pink petals. whenever I think back to those times, that is the first image I see.

But, with this artwork, we are definitely looking forwards!

Side note:- Around this time a friend introduced me to this track which I found I was listening to a lot while I worked on this illustration and in some ways it seems fitting.

The making of The Snake And The Cherry Blossoms

Most of my work starts with a rough line work version. The ink lines are such an important part of my illustrations and they can often get complicated, I like to have that worked out so I can make any adjustments I need to.

When I’m happy with the rough layout I’ll move on to creating the final artwork.

Then it’s time to paint!

The process shown here will usually take a week or two, not including initial sketches, developing the idea, and any research I might feel the need to do.

If you head to my shop you can find the Snake and the Cherry Blossoms print available to buy now.