When A Rose Is More Than A Rose (the story of a painting)
Detail of “Jane’s Roses” in progress.
At work on “Jane’s Roses”.
There is a magical summer rose garden on an island off the coast of Massachusetts, lovingly cultivated by a woman named Jane. She also nurtures another rose garden further down the East Coast, and this garden is equally enchanting.
When she and her husband found themselves spending part of their winters in a tropical clime, Jane missed having roses in her garden. But most roses, alas, do not flourish in the humid tropics.
Sometime in 2023, Jane reached out to me with a proposition: could she commission me to paint some of her roses, so that they could live with her at her tropical home?
Of course, I said yes. Once I was finally able to begin painting them late in 2023, I got to revel in the ravishing beauty of her roses every day at my studio. What a gift! I believe that it was just as intoxicating for me to paint them as it was for Jane to touch them in her garden.
Last week, I shipped the finished painting “Jane’s Roses” to her winter abode. When she received the painting, she wrote me: “You have captured my roses perfectly!”
I’m deeply touched by Jane’s note – and I think the key word is “perfectly.” Not “exactly” or “precisely.” The painting is not a true replica of Jane’s roses. I wasn’t seeking a botanically correct painting (although they DO look like her roses). Rather, I was trying to emphasize and exaggerate their essences to evoke the truth of her roses.
One of “Jane’s Roses” in progress.
What is the truth about a rose?
Roses have been cultivated by human hands for centuries because we long for the greatness of beauty. A rose – or any other great beauty – wakes us up. It stops us in our tracks. We are seduced by its beauty and brought into the NOW, momentarily forgetting our troubles, our worries, our to-do lists. We allow ourselves to be astonished, and in that moment of amazement, we are reminded of what truly matters.
“Jane’s Roses” reminds me that a rose is never just a rose. A rose (or any beauty that finds you) is a an opportunity to awaken into the miracle of this wondrous present moment.
”Jane’s Roses” (completed painting)
Oil on Linen, 30 x 40”
PRIVATE COLLECTION
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