" special"This painting began as part of a peony painting festival I was having all by myself here in the studio. (Oh, they come and go so quickly, and I promised myself to paint them this year.) The mussel shells are from a dinner with new friends, and I liked how they echoed the blues and violet of the curved porcelain tray.
I was working on painting my perfectly ripe pear when the raven image fell from a shelf onto my table, an old photo from Yellowstone. He began to watch me through the window, and I feel he is strong and rough enough to offset the drama queen peonies.
When Howard, steady on sales rep. called to remind me of my promise to provide him with an image featuring the Astoria Megler bridge, I picked up the study I'd been working with. I thought how nice it would be to have this bridge in the distance, the edge of the endless Pacific, the mighty Columbia coming on home . The starfish and the sand dollar discuss the ocean and provide me with stars. Of course I had to use one of my old jars for the bouqet. I chose "special" because that's how I felt about the peonies, and I also liked the "made in the usa."
