Lavish

Original Sold

Shop Online for Archival Prints

These roses grow in Anne and Gary’s garden, the same patch of earth as the apricots and peaches that I’ve painted. I just looked to see that I took the photo in April of 2014, which meant they were part of that year’s first big bloom. Anne had arranged a cluster of roses and buds in a wooden box-vase and had it sitting on the back patio. I loved the soft colors and old-fashioned-ness of the roses. But I but couldn’t see a painting in any of them – at least not right away. Late summer 2018 I revisited the set of photos, playing with cropping and enhancing the colors, and the potential painting sprung right out! I love it when this happens – like finding a hidden jewel.

I saved the edited image as the wallpaper on my iPad (which I use every day). Every time I opened it my heart melted. I could NOT wait to paint it. First came a commission of orange persimmons and leaves that needed to be painted while it was still winter. As soon as the commission was done, I took a big dive into the pinks, oranges and yellows of these roses.

I painted starting from the lower right, bringing out the buds. And as I did each one, the reaction was strong and immediate – people were drawn right into the centers of them, each a world of its own. When I got to working on the biggest rose, the artists in my regular groups started saying that this was the best thing I’d ever painted. Really? I was loving working with the colors and mixing lavender with my beloved Cobalt Blue, but I wasn’t really certain what it was about this one that was so special.

The story behind this painting is as much about what happens when we keep painting our paintings and our stories change, as it is about the roses, though.

One of my beloved artists in our community was called to claim this one for her own even before it was done. This is not the first of my paintings to find its home this way, but what she said was new. She told me that I put so much more than light, color – more than roses – in this painting. She said there is something else that ends up in my work – and especially in this painting.

I’ve been contemplating what she’s saying. Art contains the consciousness of its maker – our art actually is the manifest form of our consciousness. So then, what’s here?

I’ve been quiet over the past year and a half – especially on the Internet. I’ve not been writing or sharing much at all. Nevertheless things have been shifting inside me. On one hand, this is a given – regardless of what we may think, evolution does not take time off! On the other hand, without marking it by writing, it’s harder for me to see.

Looking around inside, today I find more peace, more acceptance and a certain surrendering to intentionally allowing the waves of life take me where they will. I have been spending a lot of time and energy looking for how I can make stuff happen, already!

More than ever before, regardless of how much evidence there is to the contrary, I can see that pure, simple goodness is just everywhere. I feel that abundant goodness here – the buds and petals in this image are pouring forth, as if a wave in an ocean of roses.

I try to find one, specific word for each of my paintings. I love it when I come upon a word that has layers of meanings. Lavish is one of those words. Some of its meanings have a negative connotation – wasteful, too much, over the top. But I’m going for the mercy, peace and love that are lavished upon us. Lavish is extravagant, lush, given in profusion – all of this goodness showered over us.

March 2019 – 29″x29″ – Watercolor on paper