Delight and the end of summer
guest blog by Monica Butler
Delight 48”x48” oil on wood
Though it pains me to admit it, the end of summer nostalgia is setting in. I watch the days shorten ever so slightly with each sunset. A shift in temperature has me bemoaning the task of taking my sweaters out of the closet. Truth be told, I want summer to be endless. I lament the loss of my tanned skin, dreaming wistfully of the high days of summer: the newness of May with its chilly mornings, the thrilling heat of June, the thick warmth of July and the last hurrahs of August. I’m being dramatic- summer isn’t quite over yet. But I find myself clinging, pining for summer at its peak and the bright blooms cut fresh from the garden preening happily in a vase on the table. However, summer can be permanent, in oil, at least! This dreamy piece of Elizabeth’s, entitled “Delight,” attains that permanence. The bouquet features summer fruits and flowers: bright orange kumquats good enough to eat, cotton white hydrangeas, ballet pink hyacinth, and a slate blue succulent.
The kumquats take center stage, seeming to just catch the light of the setting sun. Orange and ripe, they are polka dots of surprise throughout the work. A delicate tulip tree blossom blushes mid canvas- its cruciform petals soft and lush - creating a lovely contrast to the angled petals of the slate blue succulent above it. Waxy yellow-green leaves cascade between shoots of summer grass while fuchsia hellebores clamor for attention. The whole arrangement looks like a bouquet that one might have gathered on an afternoon walk. It is, in a word, a delight to behold.
