Sprouting Wings : A Poppy a Day Keeps the Blues Away

Lately I've been working hard at reorganizing the house and yard before the cold weather hits and haven't spent as much time on my artwork as I'd like, but when the day came this week that I stepped in front of the easel, I had a bout of artists block. What should I paint? I had so many choices and recent experiences from my vacations that I could share, but nothing gave me that spark I was looking for. I skimmed through Instagram for some inspiration and came across a posting of a poppy. I have always loved poppies and they're one of my favorite flowers to see in paintings, so I decided poppies would be my subject. It wasn't until I completed the first poppy painting, which I'll share below, that I craved to do another, and so my quest to paint a poppy painting every day for the next week was born. They say you can only master your subject by painting it over and over again - so here it goes.

I also recently began reading poetry again - this also helps to inspire you for future paintings, and I came across this beautiful poem that mentions poppies. I thought it would be fun to share the poem with you, but only a paragraph at a time. With every poppy painting I post, I will reveal the next part of the poem until the end of the week.

There is a sadness everywhere present
but impossible to point to, a sadness that hides in the world
and lingers. You look for it because it is everywhere.
When you give up, it haunts your dreams
with black pepper and blood and when you wake
you don’t know where you are.

Below are some progress photos of today's poppy painting, along with yesterday's painting.