Birth of Flora - Thank you Sandro!

This is the Birth of Flora, up on ebay tonight.  I named this painting the Birth of Flora because her pose, face and hair were inspired by Botticelli's Venus in his Birth of Venus. The flowers on her dress are taken directly from the flowers on Botticelli's Flora or fertility in La Primavera.

"...a total of five hundred species of plants have been identified in [La Primavera] the painting, of which a hundred and ninety bloom between March and May in the countryside and gardens of Florence."(Levi D'Ancona)

Since Botticelli honored nature in this way I felt I had to take the time and represent the actual flowers instead of just a loose representation. I took all the flowers directly from Flora's dress although I did play with the colors a bit. They took a very long time but there was something very peaceful about painting them.

I have found in studying painters that you learn so much from going down the road they went.  When I was painiting the strokes trying to stroke the leaves as Botticelli did it felt like something changed in my heart.   I guess it is kind of like the theory that when you smile it makes you feel better....as I made the leaves and flowers with their soft, harmonious lines I started to feel an essence of beauty.  I just want to say thank you Sandro.

She Comes in Colors.wmv

Crossing the River

The song that this painting was based on really touched me and I thought about what kind of painting I wanted to do as an extension.  The song to me is a gospel song .... and I remembered this photo I took that "accidentally" had a halo in it.   I worked and re-worked the painting and finally got it where it felt right.  It has been a real labor of love.

To hear and see play the video below.  (The music is The Highwaymen ie Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson and Waylon Jennings)

Crossing the River.wmv