Promise of Spring

I started a landscape painting featuring an oak tree in Knights Valley with rolling hills and Mount St. Helena in the background during the COVID shutdown in 2020. The lone oak tree in the composition echoed the sense of isolation I felt at that time. It was a rather melancholy composition and I wasn’t sure how to finish it, so I set it aside.
 
The piece sat idle until the winter of 2023, when I came across a photograph featuring poppies and cream cups taken by Gerald Corsi at Pepperwood Preserve in Santa Rosa. It was the time of year when days are at their shortest and temperatures are brisk. As I gazed at the vibrant expanse of wildflowers in the photograph, I found myself longing for the promise of spring…and I realized this sense of hope was what the melancholy oak composition needed as well!
 
As I was painting the multitude of flowers in the foreground, my mind was drawn to the scripture verses from Matthew 6:26-33, regarding the birds of the air, and the lilies of the field. With each brush stroke and detail, I thought “Wow, the creator of heaven and earth cares for each of these flowers down to the smallest detail - how much more must he care for us!” This promise of assurance that our needs will be met combined with my longing for spring led to the title of this piece: “Promise of Spring”.