Sumi-e paintings of lotus leaves are often executed in strong black ink, but there is a delicious floaty quality to Chinese brush paintings using a combination of indigo blue and yellow, and just a tip of black ink for emphasis. In this case, I used Yasutomo Chinese Watercolors in tubes. The colors are very vibrant, even after they dry, and because they are Chinese watercolors, they will not run on the paper when re-wetted. The paper is thin, raw "xuan" or rice paper.  The red chop or seal on the left is called a "mood seal" and reads "the brush dances and the ink sings". The two chops below my Chinese signature on the right are "Wei Jen", my Chinese art name, and an oval cartouche with my Western initials.
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You can learn how to paint lotus and kingfishers in my book "Mindful Artist: Sumi-e Painting" published by Quarto and available worldwide in bookstores and on the internet. See step by step illustrations and useful tips in this popular book. ​You can also find more lotus compositions in my painting galleries and in my blog posts. Good luck and happy painting!