The Poppies
(oils 2008)

Poppies

Every late spring/early summer, my garden is a sea of red. The Oriental Poppies seem to take over with their giant stems and huge flowers. Their colour changes in the sunlight, from strong ruby red petals with violet insides to the warm shades of crimson and orange.

The Poppies

This painting took me over 2 years to complete. I started painting the poppies over one season, but with not enough time to finish them, I had to wait for the next season for them to reappear again.
They are so majestic and demanding of your attention that I didn’t want to rush the painting by working on it away from them in the studio. I think sitting by them in their own space and watching the bees visiting them, the breeze  blowing them and swaying them in all directions, the light teasing them, brings an essence and presence to the picture that the poppies rightfully deserve.

I chose to add the bench where my father sat, and at first I thought I’d call  the painting “The Empty Bench’, but the finished painting expresses life, the continuation of life and the passion and joy of life to me. So I just called it “The Poppies”.

Sizes

A3 £40.00 A4 £25.00

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