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| Mom's Iris When we moved to Fairfax Station, VA over 30 years ago, my mother placed in my hand several rhizomes of a clear white iris edged in royal purple from her garden. "Their early spring blooms will remind you of home and family," she said and kissed us goodbye. Each spring, I photographed its beautiful flowers. Ultimately I created this pastel painting on acid-free peach-colored sandpaper and named it aptly. No other flower so brilliantly announces winter's end as the Bearded Iris, Iris germanica. All iris flowers have six petals. The three inner ones that point up are called standards, and three outer ones pointing down are called falls. The beards are the hairs that grow in the center of the falls. A healthy flower stalk produces 9 to 12 buds on short side branches, and each flower lasts about three days. Irises are available in virtually every hue: sky to deep ocean blues, lavenders, purples, coppers, reds, yellows, soft to rosy pinks, browns, and near black. The original pastel painting, presented in a 2.25" wide gold wooden frame and matching filet and a brass nameplate (triple matted in dark green suede on purple on lavender with an outer dimension of 31" x 23.5"), is available for $2,700.00. Limited edition prints and note cards are also available. |
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