Loving Me Some Roses

Loving Me Some Roses, April 2017 

I brought home this bouquet after visiting with a friend on a rainy Sunday morning.

Originally my intention was to gift the bouquet to her and keep it at her house but she said she'd be traveling during the week and wouldn't be able to enjoy it.  "Take it home," she insisted.

I felt sad that the flowers wouldn't have a new admirer but also happy that I could bring it home because I certainly would admire it.

Even though there still was no sunlight coming in through any windows I gave this a try because I couldn't leave it ignored.

I'm at the stage now that I must attend to my bouquets and give them my love and attention.  

Of course I know they're not humans, but they are in my care and I feel a connection to them, like a person when they're with me.

So I thought making a still life of them was a way to treasure the memory of our time together.

Surprise on A Rainy Sunday

Surprise on A Rainy Sunday,  April 2017 

Life is full of surprises and Sunday was one of those days.

To brighten up a cloudy, rainy, April day I arrived at my friends' house with a vase filled with flowers to cheer us both up.

I was open to allowing for the time to collaborate on art exhibition ideas but also to surprise her with creating a still life portrait, if it seemed "right" during our time together.

Even though we both saw that there was no ray of sun light anywhere she was open to me rearranging her living room furniture so I could make this portrait, which I brightened up in post production.  When you've got rain, you've got to make your own rainbow of color.

But what surprised me is she asked me to create second still life portrait that would be a gift for her uncle who was recovering from a stroke.  She added a very personal item that she said was perfect for him. Simple. Elegant. Personal.

This is when my purpose feels deeper and meaningful.

I get to create what people want to give to someone who needs an art piece that is soulful and healing.
Thank you.
Namaste.

Images for Altered Esthetics group exhibitions

Sunflowers Still Life

Tulips Still Life

Urban Garden Still Life

Standish Avenue Peonies

Spring Daffodils

Spring Daffodils 2017

Spring Daffodils 2017 

Summer Sunflowers 2015

Tulips 2015

Standish Avenue Peonies

Standish Avenue Peonies

Urban Flower Garden 2017

Urban Flower Garden 2017

Spring Tulips 2017

Roses and Wine

Roses and Wine, #2253, April 2017 

How lovely when a friend brings a bottle of wine to share with our dinner together and to add the perfect addition to this still life portrait.

Roses

Roses,  #2177,  April 2017 

Sweets

Sweets, #2034,  April 2017 

Sweets for my sweet sister who not only is a very sweet and kind person but also an excellent baker who brought a delicious blueberry cake for Easter dinner.

Pomegranate

Inspiration comes from many sources.  This still life is inspired by a poem I discovered at www.poets.org.  I invite you to read the poem and see which elements I brought into this still life.

"POMEGRANATE by Kevin Pilkington ....
A woman walks by the bench I’m sitting on
with her dog that looks part Lab, part Buick,
stops and asks if I would like to dance.
I smile, tell her of course I do. We decide
on a waltz that she begins to hum.

We spin and sway across the street in between
parked cars and I can tell she realizes
she chose a man who understands the rhythm
of sand, the boundaries of thought. We glide
and Fred and Ginger might come to mind or
a breeze filled with the scent of flowers of your choice.
Coffee stops flowing as a waitress stares out the window
of a diner while I lead my partner back across the street.

When we come to the end of our dance,
we compliment each other and to repay the favor
I tell her to be careful since the world comes to an end
three blocks to the east of where we stand. Then
I remind her as long as there is a ’59 Cadillac parked
somewhere in a backyard between here and Boise
she will dance again.

As she leaves content with her dog, its tail wagging
like gossip, I am convinced now more than ever
that I once held hundreds of roses in my hands
the first time I cut open a pomegranate. "