Ahh…yet another flower power post!
Since the spring I’ve been paying attention to garden details in a deep way. I feel like all this up close studying is sinking in somewhere in my psyche…even if at times it feels like a distraction away from painting.
There is something inside that keeps nudging “follow this wild thing!”(maybe it’s O’Keefe’s ghost;)
I probably adore this passionflower vine more for its spiraling tendrils and buds than the flowers themselves. The flowers have a strangeness that looks “machine-like” to me. They always look like a propeller about to spin off in flower flight.
It has a good kind of creepiness too…like the eyes of a plant monster. Kind of perfect as we edge closer to my favorite holiday…Halloween!
Once it gets a grip in the garden it grows like a wild thing! Popping up in unexpected places. Its enthusiasm borders on invasive. Makes it easy to snip big handfuls to stuff in a vase in the studio.
I’m feeling lots of inspiration from those tendrils on dark backgrounds. There is also something fascinating about how that soft green bud opens into such a dramatic display.
I’ve actually been lucky enough to see the exact moment of bloom. Watching the energy flip from gentleness to boldness in an instant. It’s hard to explain the feeling of watching the ta-da! of petals…except to say it’s good to pay attention to organic magic:)
““I hope you will go out and let stories, that is life, happen to you, and that you will work with these stories from your life…not someone else’s life…water them with your blood and tears and your laughter till they bloom, till you yourself burst into bloom. That is the work. The only work.””
I hope to get some new canvas delivered soon so I can see where it leads!
Till next time…