A little side quest

A while back, my eldest requested some flower paintings for their home. As you well know, flowers aren’t really my area of interest (except conceptually, of course). When my grandmother died, I went to her home and dug up some of her iris bulbs to put in my garden. Along with echinacea, daylilies, and hollyhocks (my personal favorite), I had plenty of flowers in my backyard from which to choose. I only own a couple of other items that were Grammy’s, but her birdbath sits outside my studio window and provides great entertainment for me while I paint.
 
My eldest’s only requirement was that the paintings had to be a certain size, which was quite small—perfect, because I didn’t want to spend much time on them. I thought they turned out all right and she loves them. Win-win.
 
I share this to point out that artists paint all kinds of things that you never expect or know about. Oscar Wilde said “Every portrait that is painted with feeling is a portrait of the artist, not of the sitter.” I believe every subject painted is a portrait of the artist, but some are more accurate than others.
 
P.S. I climbed the fence at Grammy’s house and lost my balance, cutting the back of my leg open from the back of my knee to my ankle on the chain link. I also found out I was allergic to the tetanus vaccine. That was some day. Back to my brushes.

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"I believe that life is chaotic, a jumble of accidents, ambitions, misconceptions, bold intentions, lazy happenstances, and unintended consequences."  - Steve Jobs