More Poppies...and a peek of Pike's Peak

I've been working on a few new paintings based on sketches and photos made over the past year from hikes I went on, as well as from flowers I've grown in my own backyard. This particular painting features very familiar subjects to me that I keep revisiting. I have always loved poppies, and for years now I keep returning to them as subject matter. I grew up in the Big Thompson Canyon, and my mom had a large patch of poppies on our property. I looked forward to them blooming each year, and when I moved away I missed them, as well as the sound and smell of the river. I feel I might cling to those two images because they symbolize a sense of stability, hope and maybe wisdom. I'm not sure exactly why, but I know I love painting both of them. The poppy has such delicate and dramatic petals, yet the bud, leaves and seed pod always reminds me of some kind of strange Jim Henson style creation. They are so difficult for me to replicate in an adequate manner, so perhaps that has something to do with why I still go back to them as well.

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