Circus Circus

"Circus Circus" -- oil on canvas 36x36" -- Margie Guyot

Oh, good heavens!  I've fallen way behind on my posts again.  Sorry!  Life's been a bit full this summer. 

I'm particularly fond of orchid cactii.  The flowers are huge and very colorful.  Why waste time (and space) growing anything less than spectacular?  The first time I'd ever seen an orchid cactus (a.k.a. "epiphyllum"), was in the conservatory at Belle Isle, Detroit.  What were those amazing flowers?  Nobody seemed to know.   It took years to find out what they were. 

I ordered a few epiphyllum leaves on eBay, believe it or not.  It only took a few more years before they were blooming like crazy.  They don't bloom all summer, though.  And each flower only lasts for about two days.  One variety, the night-blooming cereus, has flowers that only bloom for one night. 

When I noticed this plant ("Circus Circus") was beginning to bloom, I just had to use it in a still life!  I set it up with a vintage tablecloth and immediately began painting the flowers.  The one on the far right was starting to wilt and the other 3 were only in bud.  I painted as fast as I could. 

And then the iris began blooming!  I had to set this painting aside and do a whole slew of little iris paintings!  Flowers won't wait. 

Once the iris were exhausted, I got back to this painting.  By then all the blooms were brown and shriveled.  As most of my still lifes go, "it was a bitch to paint"!  But given the choice between weeding the veggie garden in the hot sun or figuring out how to paint something, painting wins every time.