Deep Purple
All winter long I look forward to the first signs of life - crocus, daffodils, tulips - and I rush outside to snap the photos that will take me through the next unbearable winter. This lovely lady appears a bit later in the season, toward mid-May, at least, and she is the absolute proof to me that spring has sprung at last. She has the unlikely name of "Superstition," not what I would chose for such a beauty, but then, since she lives in my garden I can call her anything I like. Her color is described as "black," and when she is in shadow, she does appear black, but when the sun shines on her directly you can see all sorts of wonderful hues - deep purples, reds, blues, even a little rose pink. She is a showy one and she sings all those sultry summer melodies. So I will call her "Deep Purple," like the song.
Just as there are different seasons in the year, there are seasons in our lives: spring seasons when everything seems new and exciting, warm seasons of long, lazy summer days, autumn seasons when things are changing much too fast, and even those frigid winters when the winds are bitter and the world seems lifeless and cold. In times like those, it helps to remember that even on the coldest day, when the snow is measured in feet instead of inches, when the sun has been hidden so long that we have forgotten how it feels, when everything has turned the dullest shade of gray, SPRING ALWAYS COMES. Somewhere, buried in that hard, frozen ground, new life is sleeping. It isn't dead, it is just asleep and if you wait long enough and have enough faith, you will begin to watch it grow and bloom and you will once again enjoy its fragrance.
King Solomon said it this way:
Some seasons are more pleasant than others, but all are a part of life, a part of the human experience, what makes us who we are.For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.
This is a pastel on Richeson Pastel Board, 9 x 12. It comes matted and ready to frame. Look for it on Daily Painters, Art Helping Animals and the Chisholm Trail this week. At this time I am working on incorporating a new "page" on this blog dedicated to selling original artwork and prints, so I will no longer be cluttering up my weekly blog with buttons. In the meantime, if you would like more information on this or any artwork, please email me at dellartist@yahoo.com.
