Speaking of Art Blog

Rita's Garden, pastel, 10x8"

“Won’t you come into the garden?  I would like my roses to see you.” –Richard Brinsley Sheridan

Well-tended gardens and their gardeners are magical to me.  The flowers and fruits and veggies and butterflies and birds and bees all take my breath away.  Gardeners are inspiring creatives with 2 green thumbs.  That is what I was thinking when I visited my artist friend Rita Jackson’s garden 4 years ago.  She invited me to come visit her garden and she talked about it as if it was a dear family member.  To her it was. 

And so, one day I came to her door with my camera in tow.  I was mesmerized and overwhelmed by the teeming life and beauty in her back yard.  Rita showed me around and then left me to explore and get to know her plants at my own pace.  I took tons of pics.  One stood out as soon as I snapped it.  A Tiger Swallowtail butterfly was fluttering around a zinnia flower like a ballet dancer on a stage.  I was able to get in close as the butterfly was trusting of me, the gardener’s friend.  It was a magical moment.

I saved the image for the last 4 years, hoping to have a special reason for creating a painting of that scene.  I finally found the event.  Later this summer I will be participating in an invitation-only exhibit at the Art Barn in Valparaiso IN.  It is titled “Butterflies and Beyond” and is going to feature native pollinators.  Perfect.

As I worked on the piece, I contemplated rendering only the zinnia and the butterfly, that’s it.  But I felt that would be too simplistic, too much like an illustration.  No, I needed context.  So, I softly implied a fence and some other foliage in the background.  A 10x8” painting is not a very big space in which to work.  I had to keep the background very simple for that reason.  But I’m glad I added those faintly suggested elements because they helped to create a context for the butterfly and flower - a garden, specifically Rita’s garden.

I’m really glad Rita invited me to come meet her flowers, plants, and wildlife in her small backyard garden 4 years ago.  I felt I knew its personality and character better by the time I left.  It reflected my friend Rita’s creative nature-loving spirit.  If someone invites you to meet their garden, I highly recommend it.  Say yes, and reserve the time to linger and get acquainted with its unique personality.  You won’t be sorry.  In the process of exploring, I can assure you that you will come to know the gardener better also.  They come as a set.