This piece started, as so many of them do, by accident. A few flowers from the Piggly Wiggly caught my eye: spiky, Dr. Seuss-esque sea holly next to yellow-loud sunflowers.
Home with me they came. I happened to catch them sitting as an arrangement on my deck just after the sun topped a stand of trees to the east. The stark light pushed my kitchen garden in the background into deep shadow. Whoa.
That ethereal glow speaks intensely to me. I want to keep it, and share it, and this is how I do that. Is the grandeur of color and light just a biological happenstance of nature, or does this exquisite imagery exist also to delight?
Sea Holly and Sunflowers in Waiting - acrylic on canvas - 24” x 24”
I build a painting from farthest away forward. This time, I’d planned to save the sea holly for last, just to savor the goody of working on a plant this interesting. Just look at those amazing, spiky leaves, backlit so pretty.
In the end, my longstanding habit won out, and that big sunflower in the foreground was the last to bloom on the canvas. “Sea Holly and Sunflowers in Waiting” is heading to Evanston, Illinois, with me this week for the North Shore Fine Art Expo.
Can you spot one of my pieces?
Birmingham Art Alliance Small Works Show
Meanwhile, the Birmingham Art Alliance’s “Small Works Show” is rockin’ and rollin’ at the BAA gallery space at 221 20th St N. The show hangs through December 20. Gallery hours are:
Hours:
Fridays
5 PM - 8 PM
Saturdays
11 AM - 2 PM
5 PM - 8 PM
Sundays
11 AM - 2 PM
Or by appointment: text (205) 259-6019
Until next time,
XOXO
Jean