Tiare 'Ūmatatea Painting

I am surrounded with Tiare bushes (gardenia taitensis) in my studio/gallery on the island of Huahine in French Polynesia. They bud, flower and drop at a dizzying pace! I named my studio "Galerie 'Ūmatatea" after an old tahitian word describing the tiare flower just at the moment it is opening. As I painted this little still life the tiare flower went from fully closed to fully opened, I could actually track it's movement! (I documented it on my Instagram feed!) I find the vegetation in French Polynesia so luxurious and bountiful, my life is filled with ecstatic moments of the nature kind! I often set up my still life with elements that distinctly reflect the location--the pottery of Peter Owen (another American ex-pat) and the printed fabrics that are the delight of the Polynesian people. Print patterns are an interesting element in classical painting, Gauguin used them also, albeit a lot more abstractly! I had intended to paint this more abstractly but I get so enthralled by the beauty and "mana" (spirit) of my subject that I got carried away bringing it to life! As in all my paintings, I hope the viewer will enjoy the moment of deep contemplation that the experience of painting brought to me.

Painting:Oil on Canvas

Original:One-of-a-kind Artwork

Size:7 W x 9.5 H x 0.5 D in

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