- The bird of paradise alights only upon the hand that does not grasp.
I'm not sure who John Berry was or is... or which of the several John Berrys in Wikipedia were the source of that quote. Grasping is different from reaching.
Commissions... often an onerous chore.Working for someone else's muse. This one was not (a chore.) Although the on-going day to day work of getting it done is always surprising.
It was a celebration of life and beauty and sharing, and mysterious metaphor. A surprise anniversary gift with secret significance. Such a pleasure to spend time with these beautiful flowers. Bird of Paradise. So exotic and different.
A fun part of the process was seeking out the true colors of the flower. Sometimes the buds, which are quite sword-like, are purple and magenta with pale green highlights. Improbable and wild, even for a tropical mother nature. I traveled all over Cambridge, Mass with Andrew Towl, who had tried to find a blooming flower for me, which ultimately we happened upon at a Whole Foods florist shop after giving up in the fancy professional greenhouses. And now the painting is on a wall in Brandon, Vermont.
