Monday, April 14, 2014

Carpe Diem; Daffodils and Paintcans by C.T. Rasmuss

Daffodils & Paint-cans  C.T. Rasmuss, pastels (April 2014).
 
When spring hits and wildflowers start blossoming in your yard, "seize the moment" I say, as I did and you can see in my still-life!  You may already know, if your a regular follower of my blogs; that to me spring is official when I see these brightly colored yellow Daffodils pop up all over my city (Cincinnati, OH).
 
Usually, I first notice them at my work in a vast quantity, but this year they surprised me at my new place, that I had moved into last spring; apparently after they disappeared since I didn't noticed them there last year.
 
 
photo by C.T. Rasmuss
 
So this year I picked flowers out of my very own yard (a first for me), placed them in a vase (well a makeshift vase- tall glass) and displayed their fleeting beauty in my kitchen.  As I starred at them for awhile, a good idea for a composition popped into my artist head! 
 
It was pretty close to what you see here, except for the substitution of Paint cans, paintbrushes/stirs, a couple pairs and a clove of garlic. 
 
And voi lah! a true and genuine still-life of the 21st century, it stands for "seizing life as we live it!", these flowers are gone by a  few days now, but the memory I have of them and my utilizing their mortal beauty, remains accounted for on paper; in graphite and pastel, in the way of the old masters and I'm proud of it, as much as anything I've done so far in my life.