senses alive

How Georgia O'Keeffe is this? As I took macro shots of the flowers I picked up at the Farmer's Market this morning, I thought about O'Keeffe and her amazing sensual flower paintings. I went back to the fine biography written by Laurie Lisle that I read and reread long ago when I first began experiencing New Mexico. Apart from O'Keeffe's strong personality, independence and talent, I was also fascinated by Alfred Steiglitz. 1) because his looks closely resembled my grandfather's and 2) his photography (of course). He had a great influence on the young O'Keeffe, as she did on him. He was much older when they met and fell in love. Lisle wrote, "Stieglitz constantly and copiously expressed himself in letters and talk, but rarely in poetry....yet he wrote a poem in which he pictured himself as a lover who did not block his beloved's creativity." (excerpt):

The flesh is starving

Its soul is moving starward

Seeking its own particular star

Actually, I'm into flowers & vegetables today. After a long walk in the park, before meditation, I stopped at the Farmer's Market and was dazzled by beauty and abundance. I hadn't been there for a few weeks and a lot has happened in gardens during that time, as everywhere else it seems. The mid-morning sun was strong and the colors were astounding. I bought peas and tomatoes, bread ~ and flowers.

This dragon face of a sunflower bud caught my attention. It's snarly little face and sharp pointy leaves, soon to burst into a gorgeous flower bigger than a dessert plate and as gentle.

I know I cannot paint a flower,...but maybe in terms of paint color I can convey to you my experience of the flower or the experience that makes the flower of significance to me at that particular time.
       O'Keeffe