Animation

Daisy's Legacy   oil/canvas   16 x 20

My favorite paintings are of the human figure. But, from time to time, I paint things around me that make me feel. These peonies were started from my Grandma Daisy's peonies and this time of year they seem to shoot up from the ground seemingly overnight. However, the time it takes to get from the formation of the heads, to the endless stream of ants that eat from the sweetness and help them to open seems to take forever. I always hope for several lovely blooms to be ready for Memorial Day, when my mom and I take the billowy blooms to her grave site. Grandma Daisy didn't have much money and she didn't say much, but her garden was her glory. I thank her for this important lesson. It is difficult to paint flowers. These were painted from life in my studio. I feel that I have succeeded when the flower grouping has an animated gesture, when I really do feel the life within. The power of the peonies is cyclical and teaches me every spring.