Superbloom

Artist: Lake, Carly b. 1994

Date: 2025

Medium: Watercolor and gouache on paper

Artwork Dimensions: 30 x 54 in.

County Department: Arts and Culture

Artwork Site: Civic Art Storage

Current Status: In storage

About the Artwork: Superbloom references the Los Angeles urban landscape. It is a collection of scenes illustrating the proliferation of both native and non-native flowers that emerge during springtime, alongside persistent urban objects and formations. California sunflower, silver lupine, and golden poppies are common native flowers that are depicted throughout the painting. The neon yellow flowers of black mustard, a non-native invasive plant that displaces native species by competing for space and nutrients, are also included.

About the Artist: Carly Lake is a visual artist primarily working in watercolor, natural dyes, and weaving practices. She creates nature-focused illustrations for books, editorial, and mural artworks. Her debut picture book, Waa'aka The Bird Who Fell in Love With the Sun (Heyday Books) by author Cindi Alvitre (Tongva), was awarded Excellence in a Picture Book of Cultural Significance by the Children's Literature Council of Southern California. Alongside her art practice, Lake develops classes on topics of drawing, watercolor painting, connecting with nature, and cultivating imagination for children and adults. She facilitates hands-on workshops about natural dyes, sharing ethnobotanical histories, artistic techniques, and collective learning about our shared ecology. Through natural dyes, she is interested in maintaining a tangible engagement with her local environment, as well as continuing to connect with personal and global histories. Lake received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration and minor in Native American Cultures from California State University at Long Beach. She lives near the San Gabriel Mountains in Ontario, CA.