Tulips.
Tulips.
Twolips.
How many ways do I love thee, O' Tulip!
Your ever changing grace pleasures me.
You are more beguiling,
and more wonderful
with each passing day.
How shall I repay you for this
sweet and gentle joy,
pretty, dancing Tulip?
I shall paint you
in a dozen different ways.
Bad poetry? Perhaps...Okay, yes. I don't claim to be a poet. But the beauty of a vase filled to overflowing with bright orange tulips, sunlight dancing through their leaves and petals making patterns of light and shadows there, challenges me to honor them even in prose.
At least once a year I purchase a bundle of tulips. Not only do I enjoy the graceful shape of a new bunch of unopened tulips, but they have a wonderful way of changing as the days go on. Once open, they flaunt their fluffy stamens and pistils like princesses in diamond tiaras, gangly teenagers that they seem to be.
These stages of development provide the daily changes in the life of a vase of tulips, and as a result, many opportunities for painting them.
The other day I made a series of photos from a basic setup in afternoon light. Layla obviously wanted to help by getting in the picture, adding interest and life to my photo shoot.
I think I shall paint tulips today.
