Title: Burning Tree

Artist: Khin Yadanar Htay

About the Artwork
I painted a single tree covered with yellow leaves standing under the blazing sun, enduring the intense heat of summer. The leaves are starting to wither from the heat and they seem as though they could fall at any moment. Even so, the tree continues to stand firmly in the middle of the grassland, doing its best to stay alive until the very end.

Through this painting, I wanted to express something about human life. I believe people are a lot like this tree. In life, we all have to go through difficult times and face many challenges, just as the tree endures the scorching sun. That’s why I created this work with the hope of living like this tree—never losing my smile, no matter what hardships or suffering may come, and continuing to live life to the fullest until the very end.

About the Artist
Khin Yadanar Htay is an 18-year-old artist and first-year university student. She is currently studying Japanese with the goal of passing the Japanese-Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) N3 and earning a scholarship to study in Japan. Reading is one of her favorite hobbies.

She usually draws with a mechanical pencil, creating illustrations of plants such as trees and flowers, as well as animals including dogs and rabbits. Sometimes she works from books as points of reference, while at other times she draws from her own imagination.

For this project, she challenged herself to create a piece of art using a pen tablet for the first time. Although she initially found it difficult, she explored different drawing tools and functions, gradually finding new ways to express her ideas and bring her vision to life. She notes that access to traditional art materials is often limited, making it difficult to create exactly as she imagines. By contrast, digital tools provided a wide range of artistic options, giving her more freedom in the creative process.

In the future, she hopes to study abroad in either Japan or London. Afterward, she would like to visit different countries and broaden her horizons by learning about their cultures, education systems, and food. She also says that, when she has the opportunity, she would like to create a painting of a girl gazing at the moon on a quiet night. The girl would reflect on her future while representing a part of the artist herself.

About the Creative Spark Award
The Creative Spark Award was presented by artists Arctico Wolf and Apolo Crimson, who served as instructors for the Creative Spark Workshop, a digital drawing workshop organized by Wacom and Dream Train in May 2026.

The award was given to two works selected from 20 submissions in recognition of the children’s creativity. In addition to how the artists expressed the workshop theme, “Our Sparks,” the judges also considered each participant’s willingness to challenge themselves through digital drawing and their dedication to the creative process. The two winning pieces were those in which the instructors felt they had witnessed particularly meaningful growth.

Comment from Artist Apolo Crimson
The piece with the added Japanese phrase “Natsukashii Natsu (Nostalgic Summer)” is the one that stayed with me the most. Khin Yadanar Htay created it on the first day of the workshop, before she had fully learned the features of the software or the pen tablet. Even so, it was wonderful to see how eager she was to experiment with every function available to her. What impressed me even more was her strong sense of intuition and creativity. To express a sense of nostalgia, she chose to paint orange leaves that evoke the feeling of summer. The piece suggests that summer holds a special place in her heart. As I looked at it, I found myself wondering what kinds of summers she had experienced and what memories inspired her.

Comment from Artist Arctico Wolf
From the very first day, Khin Yadanar Htay was working on paintings featuring a yellow tree. Around it, she drew red trees, creating a warm atmosphere that felt almost as if it had been illustrated in a book with colored pencils. The added Japanese phrase “Natsukashii Natsu” (Nostalgic Summer)” on the top left matched the world of the artwork beautifully, conveying how deeply summer remains in her heart as a cherished memory.