As we approach Mother's Day next month, I've been thinking a lot about the role of my Mom in my life. During her working years she owned and managed a floral shop. She is an extremely talented floral designer who made beautiful arrangements for all occasions - including my wedding. In retirement she still enjoys creating wonderful bouquets with the fresh flowers grown in her backyard garden.
In honor of my Mom, and just in time for Mother's Day, I'll offer a new series of small landscape and cityscape paintings inspired by the colors of flowers called Flower Color.
Buttercup, 11 x 14 oil on panel
A little (ancient) history: Back in 1973, my Mom started her own floral business based out of our home in southern Wisconsin. She took the entrepreneurial plunge based on her love for flowers and a desire to supplement our household income by $50 each month. She quickly vaulted past that benchmark and went on to run a successful business for over two decades as her Floral Design Shop became a well-known presence in our small farming community.
As a kid growing up during the long winters of Wisconsin, I was surrounded by shipments of exotic tropical flowers, festive bouquets, and a world of vivid color, courtesy of her profession. Although I did not become a florist myself, I learned a lot by watching how she ran her business.
My Mom never let anything out of her shop without first ensuring that it was the best quality that it could be and that it was well-presented. I remember her fussing over the pleats in cellophane wrappings around fresh bouquets or carefully stacking clear clam shell containers of corsages and boutonnieres in our refrigerator for high school students to pick up on their prom night. No detail was too small.
Since starting my own art studio business in 2005, I've aspired to these same high standards in my own work. I like to create one-of-a-kind original paintings because they allow me the opportunity to take a deep, thoughtful dive into each subject and to highlight the details about each subject that I think make them special and worthy.
This is the first Flower Color installment of artwork and I plan to continue adding to it during subsequent years / Mother's Day holidays.
