Flowers Make Great Subjects

Valentine's Day found me and my guy in Los Angeles at one of our favorite artist's gallery for a "Romance In Bloom" show of her works. We stumbled upon Erin Hanson at the Capitola Art and Wine Festival about five years ago. Her work was a standout in a crowded field of pottery, sculpture, photographs, and a wide-variety of artisan crafts.

Her very large oil paintings are more than impressive, they're inspiring. She captures the boldness of nature with her "plein-air" style artistry, that takes a page from the great Impressionists of the 19th century and updates it with her dramatic viewpoint. With her brush strokes, the outdoors is brought to life in a way that draws you in and out.

As a gardener, this exhibit spoke to my love of all things that grow. These two were my favorites - date palms in Coachella, CA and wild poppies somewhere in Erin's great outdoors.

As winter winds to a close and spring starts to bloom, I'm hankering to be outside in my garden, inspired to create beauty much like Erin has done.