Caresse Hong

Backyard Lilly

Backyard Lilly captures the brief bloom of a lotus within a familiar backyard pond, exploring themes of memory, renewal, and the passage of time. Grounded in personal experience, the painting reflects on how recurring moments in nature can carry lasting emotional significance.Original works are not available for purchase. Limited edition prints are available upon request.

“This painting is based on a lotus that bloomed in my backyard pond, a place I have grown up with and feel deeply connected to. Because the lotus blooms only once a year, its appearance feels like a small but significant event. Over time, the pond has come to feel alive to me, shaped by cycles of waiting, change, and return. These quiet shifts form the foundation of this work.The lotus acts as a marker of memory and renewal. Having observed this pond through different stages of my life, the annual bloom reflects the passage of time while reinforcing a sense of continuity. Working from my own photograph allows me to preserve an otherwise fleeting moment, holding onto something that quickly disappears.Through a slow and layered painting process, I aim to echo the patience involved in waiting for the bloom each year. The work becomes a way of extending that moment, suggesting how the landscape holds memory and how repeated natural events can carry lasting emotional significance.”