I’ll paint what I see –
what the flower is to me
but I’ll paint it big
and they will be surprised
into taking time to look at it…
— Georgia O’Keeffe 1In her contribution to the exhibition catalogue for the show An American Place (1944), Georgia O’Keeffe wrote: A flower is relatively small. Everyone has many associations with a flower – the idea of flowers. You put out your hand to touch the flower – lean forward to smell it – maybe touch it with your lips almost without thinking – or give it to someone to please them. Still – in a way – nobody sees a flower – really – it is so small – we haven’t got time – and to see takes time, like to have a friend takes time… So I said to myself – I’ll paint what I see – what the flower is to me but I’ll paint it big and they will be surprised into taking time to look at it… Well – I made you take time to look at what I saw and when you took time to really notice my flower, you hung all your own associations with flowers on my flower and you write about my flower as if I think and see what you think and see of the flower – and I don’t.
Breath taking beauty Leaves me speechless In awe of nature And the artist's talent Informed of Freud Viewers insisted Her flowers must be About Eve's secrets When asked about it She would respond They were talking About themselves
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Do we see the Soul of Nature – a century later?
To be continued…
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All canvases on this page are flower paintings by Georgia O’Keeffe.