The Year of the Monkey stamp, the ninth postage stamp in a series Kam Mak has been commissioned to create for the U.S. Postal Service, has recently been released. It’s a souvenir sheet of 12 Forever stamps that feature red Chinese peonies against a purple background. Of his painting, created for the stamp, Mak said, “Called the Flower of Riches and Honor by the Chinese, the peony is a symbol of feminine beauty as well as of love and affection. Since the color red is associated with good luck, red peonies are very popular as people decorate their homes with them in hopes of bringing luck and good fortune to the home in the coming year. I remember my mother decorating the house with cuttings of peonies arranged in a vase around the Lunar New Year. I hope the painting will evoke a sense of renewal, and the coming of spring.”
The cut-paper design of a monkey, by Clarence Lee, and the Chinese character for “monkey,” written in calligraphy by Lau Bun, were added to create continuity among all the stamps in the series. The Year of the Monkey begins on February 8, 2016, and ends on January 27, 2017. The series will continue through 2019 with stamps for the years of the rooster, dog, and boar. For more information, contact Kam Mak, 75380.