A Summery Spring

This lite version (as it only contains 2 of my images) I am posting to keep the posting flame burning. I also combine the Spring (Tina) and Summer (Amy) themes of the esteemed Lens Artist quartet.

Judging by the jacket my very young daughter is wearing, the title should rather be a wintry spring. But as is often the case, the mother got cold and therefore the child must wear the jacket. Do you still remember those days?

But spring it certainly is, as can be seen by the flowering Irises and Ranunculus. The Irises were purposefully planted by yours truly as the child peering through them is called Irisna. The pronunciation of her name is a bit of a calamity for English speakers. Regarding my own name the A of Abrie is pronounced like the a of raspberry. Abrie as in raspberry not Aubrey as in strawberry… I will admit I am a bit of a fruit cake slash salad. And to top it all the brie is pronounced like a Brie cheese. Quite a cheesy fruit salad in fact.

The first I of Irisna is pronounced like the y of calamity and the second i like the i in calamity. And no the a does not sound like either of the a’s… Right now the closest I get to the a of Irisna is the a of Abrie.

“Irisna”

Irises were the theme of 4 of Van Gogh’s paintings. I am featuring the artwork “Irises” underneath. In 1987 it reached the highest price for a painting at the time of 53.9 million US Dollar. In 1990 it was bought for an undisclosed amount by the J.Paul Getty museum where (at the moment) it cannot be seen.

“Irises” is a classic example of how beauty can flow from troubling times as these Irises grew at the asylum where Van Gogh was a patient. Currently due to Covid19 the Getty Museum is closed but that does not mean that beauty cannot be seen in or flow from our troubling times. Hey, even the word troubling has a sliver lining:  trou – bling

Van Gogh, I have great admiration for your art. In fact, I have an unpublished blog post on how you are inspiring people long after your death. But with respect Vincent, your works of art do not come close to the masterpiece called Irisna.

“Irises” photo credit J.Paul Getty museum

“Fifteenth of December”

Taken at the Cape Town Waterfront 15 December 2019 on a perfect summer night even if it isn’t a starry starry night. 

I conclude this post with another classic, this time a song. When you are small like Irisna in the photo above, a line from the song First of May by the Bee Gees, is certainly applicable:

When I was small and Christmas trees were tall

Later in the song the tree is viewed with adult eyes signalling potential pain:

Now we are tall, and Christmas trees are small
And you don’t ask the time of day
But you and I, our love will never die
But guess we’ll cry come first of May

It could have been written about Vincent van Gogh’s unfulfilled need to be loved.

There is another version of First of May, namely Fifteenth of December (as that is the date this photo was taken),  in the middle of Southern hemisphere summer. The words are similar with an important twist.  May it inspire us to again become like children and look up, away from the immediate and marvel at a huge and beautiful place called universe and the multiplicity of its people – despite political and health pandemics.

Now I am tall and Christmas trees are still taller

A lyric from the fictional song Fifteenth of December.

And he (Christ) said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven”. Matthew 18:3