Bloom (from Walt Whitman & F. Latour - 1862)

26 x 26 inches

Oil on canvas

2022

‘Bloom’ was inspired after reading the opening of a poem by Walt Whitman called ‘When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d’. This specific Fantin Latour floral, at the time, came to my minds eye. It is a floral that is not yet, and in full bloom, in the prime of its existence and full of promise. The red field seemed like the best colour to both harmonize and contrast with the image, considering the many different symbolic meanings red can elicit…. Including mortality.