The Moment That Sparked Creation
During my latest gallery exhibition, the space filled not only with artwork and conversation, but with fragrant, vibrant bouquets brought by friends. One bouquet, in particular, seemed to shine brighter than the rest. It wasn’t the largest or the most ornate – but something in its wild mix of orange lilies, delicate purples, and sprays of green felt alive. As the night ended, I couldn’t take my eyes off it. It whispered to me a message of gratitude, friendship, and spirit.
By the next morning, I knew I had to immortalize that fleeting moment. I didn’t just want to paint the bouquet – I wanted to paint the feeling it carried into the room. And so this painting was born.
Not a Bird, but Wings
This painting centers around powerful, ethereal white wings that stretch across the canvas. They are not tied to a body, not confined by form. These wings are a symbol of pure blessing, of divine upliftment that comes unannounced and unbound.
Instead of a bird, I painted two vivid hummingbirds, drawn into the energy of the wings. One is blue and poised with focus, the other a reddish shimmer in motion. These hummingbirds aren’t just ornamental – they’re vital messengers of joy and motion. Hovering near the lilies, they seem to draw nectar not just from the flowers, but from the very spirit of gratitude that inspired the work. Their wings blur with speed, echoing how the human eye often perceives them – a visual tremble of life itself
A Symphony of Color and Texture
This painting poured out of me through palette knives and thick, expressive strokes. The white wings are layered with iridescent hues – soft greens, glints of gold, and warm ivory tones – symbolizing purity without stillness. They are wings of motion, of blessing in flight.
Bright orange lilies leap from the composition with joy. Their vivid warmth grounds the wings in a world still full of beauty. I see these lilies as celebratory flames – like candles of thanksgiving. Around them swirl cascades of purples, pinks, and yellows – each bloom a part of the original bouquet, now eternalized in oil and movement.
The emerald and ochre tones of the background pulse with life and contrast, reminding us that blessings rise out of both shadow and light. The trailing tail-like pattern of color hints at feathers, or perhaps at wind, memory, or song. I let the colors lead the composition as much as the forms themselves.
What It Means: The Hummingbirds as Carriers of Light
Hummingbirds are tiny, but their presence is powerful. In this painting, they represent more than nature- they are symbols of spiritual attentiveness. They move quickly, with intention, drawn to sweetness, to life, to color. Just like us when we pause long enough to take in a gift, a smile, or a bouquet handed in love.
The hummingbirds’ place between the wings and the lilies connects heaven and earth. They are intermediaries – here to remind us that even the smallest creatures carry messages of divine origin.
This is not a painting of birds and flowers – it is a painting of spirit and energy. The wings carry the essence of a blessing, and the hummingbirds, like friends bearing flowers, deliver it with grace.
From a Bouquet to Something Eternal
That unforgettable bouquet no longer sits in a vase. But its essence lives here – in lilies that bloom forever and wings that never tire. This is the power of art – to take a moment, one that might have otherwise slipped away, and hold it in stillness and color.
I didn’t try to paint the bouquet exactly as it was. Instead, I listened to the feeling it gave me and let that guide my hand. The hummingbirds arrived on their own, it seemed, as if summoned by the memory itself. And the wings? They formed from the idea of a blessing – untethered, powerful, and ever-reaching.
A Blessing in Flight
To anyone who stands before this piece, I hope it offers more than beauty – I hope it offers a moment of peace, a reminder that even brief encounters can carry deep meaning. This painting is a prayer, shaped in wings and color and flowers and flight.
May it bless your space as that bouquet blessed mine. May the hummingbirds remind you to pause for sweetness. And may the wings remind you that even when we feel wingless, blessings still surround us, lifting us gently higher.
