This is the final artwork for my "Year in Japan" series of 12. This piece represents summer. It was created using Copic markers and coloured pencil on Arches 300gsm, medium textured, 100% cotton paper. It is roughly twice the size of many of the works in this series. This is the only artwork for my series of 12 that is still available for purchase.

I love comic book style illustrations and animation so wanted to create an artwork in a similar style. This series captures everyday scenes in Japan in an attempt to portray the Japanese phrase 'mono no aware' - the gentle sadness of things. This refers to the ephemeral, transitory nature of the world, which in turn evokes a greater appreciation for things which are quick to disappear, such as cherry blossoms. The scenes I portray are fleeting moments in time, where the figures, objects and light will only be in that exact state for a moment, never to be repeated.

For this piece I adjusted the colours to create a more limited palette. I really love the 'tourist snapshot' look to this piece, capturing the moment a woman dressed in a traditional kimono is crossing the street. My 'lone figure', who appears in each work of the series, is walking away from the viewer at the end of the crosswalk. This is quite different from my other works, as the figure is normally more centred. This was the final work I created in the series, so I wanted to give a sense of my lone figure moving on.

The blues are reminiscent of "Rainy Day", the oranges and browns of "Early Morning Ride". There is also a bicycle and an umbrella which are both motifs in a few works of this series. This piece is also set on the same street in Tokyo as my first marker and pencil artwork, "Tokyo Street Signs".

The dimensions are for the size of the image. There is roughly a 1 inch border around the image for framing. I have written the details for the artwork on the back of the piece in gold pen. My name is also written in black fine liner within the artwork.