Garden Inspiration

6/26/2021 2:28:13 PM
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Orange poppies

I'm In Heaven, Oil

I love gardening. I love the smell of the earth, getting dirty, and watching the plants grow and mature in all their splendor. I have a spectacular hibiscus plant that is about 3 feet high and about 4 feet across with deep crimson colored flowers. The other day the last blossom faded and died. I looked sadly at the shriveled up petals that resembled a small lump of something indefinable. It means autumn and winter are coming and my garden will be asleep for several months.

I have painted a lot of flowers. However, I took a hiatus for over a year from them. I got sick of painting them. Yup, you read that right. I was sick of them. I had two floral exhibits at two different galleries just months apart and by the time I had created enough paintings for the shows I couldn't paint one more petal. I tried but my attempt was banished to a pile of unfinished paintings waiting for me to go back to work on them again sometime in the future.

In June I stood in a field of orange red poppies. I looked at the beautiful deep colors all around me, the turns and twists of the petals, and the wonderful velvety dark centers. I was immediately over my mind freeze. How could I not paint something so heavenly. I could hardly wait to get to my studio to work. For the last year I have been collaborating with my good friend and artist Sherry on a project that I have found very satisfying but the other evening, when I went through all of the photographs I took of this year's garden, I decided to squeeze in several small florals while I work on the project.

So this fall and winter, when you look at my Instagram and Facebook posts and check my website, you will see the fruits of my garden inspiration. I am looking forward to next years flowers already.