One of my favorite Day of Rest activities is reading poetry. One day to read a line, take a sip of tea and then look out the window for five minutes. Ahh, yes, this is the life. Once a week my family and I practiced this resting, each in our own way.
So, I was reading William Wordsworth last Sabbath and this line caught my breath. I read it again and nodded. This explained my passion for painting flowers. Now, I must make a confession. It’s easy to avoid flowers because watercolor artists tend to get a bad rap for creating sentimental, faded and mediocre art. And a seasoned lady (which I’m becoming) painting watercolors of flowers, I mean, come on! How stereotypical can you get?!
Still, I love painting flowers. It’s not because I like sentimental or ethereal things. It’s because of what Wordsworth said here in the last lines of “Ode”. Let me quote him:
Thanks to the human heart by which we live,
Thanks to its tenderness, its joys, and fears,
To me the meanest flower that blows can give
Thoughts that do often lie too deep for tears.
Some of you know precisely what I mean. You can learn a lot of things from the flowers. The flowers tell the story of our thoughts. Victorians knew this, too. They used flowers to communicate. A daffodil was a symbol of strength. A tulip meant unfailing love. Observe the lilies, look at this iris, that lowly, rambling nasturtium, the poised tulip. They teach, they speak and they remind us. Wordsworth knew about it, too.
These flowers and their meaning are part of my newest Flowers 2 Collection These new flowers, the backstory of why I chose each one, and the flowers meaning are all available in my shop. See pics of all the flowers below!
And take a look at some of my new paintings below. This set are available at Sullivan Framing and Fine Art Gallery in Bedford, New Hampshire. Read the captions for the titles and size! Joppa Hill Farm sold just this week, but the rest are available.
And don’t miss the professional photos of me painting outside (en Plein air) in Portsmouth. I tried to paint the tall ships as they came in for the weekend. What a lovely time meeting new photographers, artists and many young children who had lots to say.
- I like those colors!
- Why are you scratching the paper?
- Is that me?
One of these pint-sized kids brought her mother over who asked to take some pictures. This mother was a photographer who sent me an album of all the photographs. Enjoy these at the bottom!
And next time . . . some tips on how to frame your art on a budget. There are so many ways to get a good frame, even cut a mat board without having to do it yourself or break the bank.
Now, I give you the language of the flowers. First, the tulip . . .
