"Homage to Georgia O'Keeffe 3"
This is my attempt to pay obeisance to one of my favorite artists. It started with a digital photo I took in August of 2007, on the back deck of my house, of a New Guinea Impatiens blossom. I bought the plant at a local grocery store for $9.99 and it grew profusely, producing many beautiful flowers throughout that summer. I've spent many hours during the last week, playing with the original image in Photoshop.
It was my first summer back in that house in Massapequa since 1999, when my marriage of 15 years fell apart; and I'd moved back in the previous October, to fix it up a bit before putting it on the market. The 14 months I lived there alone were bittersweet; after all, this was the house where my twin daughters were born and raised, and now I was its sole occupant - well, except for Whiskers.
He was one of two cats we'd adopted in the early '90's, and he was already very sick when I moved back in. His brother, Mew, who was a few years younger, had passed on previously, and my daughters had made their mom promise not to have Whiskers put down while they were away at school. She never had to: He didn't hang on long enough, dying peacefully at home on Halloween afternoon while I was nearby.
I buried him in the backyard, near to where his brother already was resting, after leaving a bucket of goodies on the front porch for neighborhood Trick or Treaters to dig into. Meanwhile, I dug through a pervasive maze of roots in the rear of our yard. When I'd finished this sad duty I looked up and saw a sky filled with a beautiful sunset over our home. I went back inside the house and cried, before sending a notice to my girls.
This is my third and final derivation of that original photo. I'll post one intermediary image here, for comparison:
"Homage To Georgia O'Keeffe 2"
And, for those who didn't see yesterday's blog, I'll also embed the original photo here:
"New Guinea Impatiens"
Lastly, here's a satellite view from Google Maps - of where our house was, and it's relative position to the Biltmore Beach Club. That's a place I have many very fond memories of, from the 11 summers spent there while my daughters were growing up. They later progressed from being gate guards to life guards, and my only returns there were to watch them compete in swim meets: Those were also very bittersweet to attend.
Links:
"Homage to Georgia O'Keeffe 3" Fine art prints.
"Homage to Georgia O'Keeffe 2" Fine Art prints.
"New Guinea Impatiens Macro" Fine Art prints.
Georgia O'Keeffe Museum
