‘The Forever Flowers’ 9×12 pastel ©Karen Margulis
Two weeks ago Jayne and I went to visit our friend Holly at her mountain house. She has a huge garden with half of it devoted to flowers. Her neighbor plants and tend the flowers. There are dahlias of all shapes and colors, zinnias, cosmos and sunflowers. I was in heaven! We went down to the garden several times a day to take photos in the changing light. We enjoyed the bees and hummingbirds and butterflies.
We love the flowers but don’t like them to be cut. (deadheading is OK) Early the next morning the neighbor came and started cutting and making the bouquets that she sells at the market. Oh it was so sad to see those sunflowers cut down. And imagine our dismay when she brought a cut bouquet up to the house for us to enjoy. She meant well. She didn’t quite get why we prefer our flowers growing and not cut. I told my friends that I would take pictures of the bouquet and paint them so that we would enjoy them forever.
I painted them on Diane Townsend pastel paper with a watercolor underpainting. I painted them from my heart. Jayne and Holly….here’s to our Forever Flowers!
You’ve really kept them alive – they are so beautiful and vibrant! A joy to see.