Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, ( sun, moon and stars) who does not change like shifting shadows.
James 1: 17 NIV
The balloon flower (Platycodon grandiflorus) in ancient Greek means wide bell. The flower crown has five points while its bud looks like a balloon. Their leaves are rich green closely spaced with narrow ends and teeth on the edge. While the leaves of the snowberry are veined and leathery looking underneath. The name for snowberries in ancient Greek means ‘to bear together.
from the pale pink cerise of the flowers ,
to the very tiny green then white berries,
to the comparatively vast size of the mature berry.
I have used these berries in a vase on a cold day in autumn/ winter when there was no hint of a flower but this time I was intrigued to see how tiny their flowers really are in summer.
Look at their purple lines as if some one had come to change them. It was then I looked carefully at those still in the garden. There were faint lines of purple from each petal point to the centre. The colour seemed to be spreading through the veins with time . It was sooner on those in the vase than those in the garden.
There are times in life when people must know when not to let go. Balloons are designed to teach small children this.
Terry Pratchett (1948 – 2015 An English humorist , satirist , and author of fantasy novels. It is interesting that he wasn’t a fan of chapters in his books ‘ life doesn’t happen in regular chapters’ he said. He died after a long struggle with Alzheimers disease.)
To experience physical growth and then change, was in my looking and noticing for this post. It was in the snow berries and in the balloon flower and then on my paint brush.
I was looking at grey but I wanted three shades of grey. Grey made with white and black. Grey from sienna and blue and then grey in the tube. All greys. But they were different. The sienna being warmer and more pleasant. I used these as stripes at the back. I enjoyed making them as I tried to make sure the brush was loaded with enough to go right across.
Then the flowers I painted them white first but I returned the next day because I hadn’t originally noticed the purple lines. So from white they got their purple-blue lines
Jan Davidsz de Heem was a Dutch painter as was his father who taught him and then he taught two or three of his sons. Many of these painters of flowers were botanists hence their detailed paintings. I enjoyed this link for children looking at Jan Davidsz de Heem’s vase of flowers. Press on it if you would like to see it. These painters must have had good memories and sketches because as it is said not all of these 30 flowers bloom at the same time of the year. They existed in a colourful imagination rather than a vase in front of the artist.
I hope today is blessed.
Sandy 🙂
Beautiful, thoughtful, and intresting, Sandy.
Thank you Mary. Such kind words.
I have never heard of these flowers, Sandy, but they are beautiful! You did a fantastic job painting them.
Ah, thank you. I was impressed that they went through the winter. They are each in a terracotta pot. They were so new to me I was sure they wouldn’t last the winter. I enjoyed looking at them to paint . Thanks for the compliment.