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Spring Iris

Everyone is familiar with Van Gogh's Irises. The iris is a beautiful and showy flower that is one of the joys of spring. According to Wiki, an ancient belief is that the iris serves as a warning to be heeded, as it was named for the messenger of Olympus. It also conveys images of lost love and silent grief.

I have been observing the growth of my studio garden iris' that I planted just after moving in and have come into their own this year. We all have times of highs and lows, currently I am experiencing a low.

The first image is a digital image that I made, hopefully expressing my interpretation of the messenger of Olympus. I tried to show the flowers reaching out as though grasping at something precious, slowly slipping away. The textures are reminesent of tear stains and the colour palette is that of my association with grief that I have been harbouring recently.


Messenger of Olympus
 


The second image is of the studio iris' that are inspiring my thoughts and images. The fragility of the petals, the textures, shapes and the intense purples, draw me to them and have me visually measure their shadows and contrasts.




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