A Watercolour Scanned into my iPad and a Haiku (Senryu)

This is another one of my illustrated haiku from my handmade book, “Poems from Home: a Collection of Illustrated Haiku.” I painted the watercolour on paper and wrote the haiku, quite a few years back.

About the Scan and Arrangement of My Haiku and Watercolour

I used the “Scanner Pro” app to scan my watercolour, into the iPad. Then from “Photos” imported it into the “Tayasui Sketches app, and with the white paint, painted out any shadows that had crept in around the image. Very handy. There’s a few art apps I can use for this purpose. I’m getting better at using the scanner, so shadows are not happening as much – and I can always white out shadows with an eraser in an art app – usually the “Procreate“ app.

I then took the watercolour into the “Pages” app, typed in the haiku and arranged it together with the image. I took a screenshot, and in the “Photos” section edited out any unwanted edges. There are also other ways and apps I can use to put the text with the image. It can sound complex, but it really is all quite easy and quick to do.

I’ve experimented a fair bit in the past year or so, with ways to best use my iPad for my art and words. Lots of fun, but still lots to learn. You can find out more about the apps I use in, “Some App Information”.

I mention in a previous post why I don’t call, these poems haiga. However, many of my illustrated poems, perhaps can be called, an english version of a haiga…hmm.

The haiku in this collection could also be recognised as senryu. I have spoken about haiku and senyru in my post, About Haiku and Tips on Writing Them. However, I’m certainly no expert in these matters.

More Information and Links about Senryu and Haiku

Below is a quote – a definition of the term senryu. Also some excellent online sites, where you can find more about haiku and related areas.

Firstly, the quote from Haiku Society of America under the page heading:

“Official Definitions of Haiku and Related Terms”

“SENRYU

Definition: A senryu is a poem, structurally similar to haiku, that highlights the foibles of human nature, usually in a humorous or satiric way.

Notes: A senryu may or may not contain a season word or a grammatical break. Some Japanese senryu seem more like aphorisms, and some modern senryu in both Japanese and English avoid humor, becoming more like serious short poems in haiku form. There are also “borderline haiku/senryu”, which may seem like one or the other, depending on how the reader interprets them.”

Although my haiku above is not about human nature, as senryu often includes, I do use personification: a poetic device which suggests human characteristics in inanimate objects. I talk more about this device towards the bottom of this post.

Another great site is, The Haiku Foundation.

Below a Link to a lovely blog I follow.

Poems From Oostburg, Wisconsin. Ellen Grace Olinger.

Hope you are inspired to write some haiku of your own.