study the wildflowers, how they grow 23

The title is a translation of a phrase that appears in slightly different forms in two of the synoptic gospels, Matthew 6:28 (καταμάθετε τὰ κρίνα τοῦ ἀγροῦ πῶς αὐξάνουσιν) and Luke 12:27 (κατανοήσατε τὰ κρίνα πῶς αὐξάνει). It seems to me that both suggest careful study of how wildflowers grow (not just a glance at the pretty flowers), and that's the direction I have gone in this series of paintings, most of which are smaller (postcard size). In this piece (which is 20 x 14 inches), as in all the paintings in the series, I've allowed the paint to flow with minimal intervention, allowing the flowers to move (as wildflowers do) the way liquid moves on paper. For this painting, I've used natural pigment (from beets) for the flowers, along with cobalt blue, cadmium yellow, and titanium white.