Inspiration for “The Travel Within” a Wildflower Painting
“Each of us should travel inwards from the surface constraints and visit the wild places within us”.
~ John O’Donohue.
The brisk swift from a long and unpredictable Michigan spring to a long-waited summer has given all our senses such special treat.
Our body is hugged by the warmth of the sun instead of warm sweaters and blankets.
We now can walk barefoot on the sand and grass. We breathe deeper trying to capture for the rest of the year the mysterious aroma of lily-of-the-valley, lilacs, choked cherries and such a great variety of other trees and bushes.
We are grateful for this gift.
We are grateful for the four seasons.
We are.
We can spend an entire day in nature and THAT gives such a priceless feeling of freedom!
Summer always brings me to paintings local wildflowers, nourished by the spring and summer rains.
‘Your love of beautiful local wild and roadside sights keeps me loving your artistic expression which is restful delight”.
-Sandie Coffman, artist, photographer.
Luckily most of them are quite the same as in my native pastures of Belarus and woodland meadows of Siberia. Growing up there we knew not only their names, but when to collect them, how to dry them and their medicinal qualities. My mom had a special bond with them. And now as she passed away, I have even deeper connection with them.
They not only remind me OF her- I associate them WITH her.
And thus, while tulip art collection is all about celebration of spring, joy and hope, the wildflowers to me is the talk with my inner child.
My true nature. My inner sense. My innocence.
I always feel: I am one of them.
“Therefore, am I still a lover of the meadows and the woods, and mountains, and of all that we behold from this green earth”.
~ William Wordsworth
