Jean's Snowdrops - Commissioned Painting / Birthday Present

Snowdrops in Vintage Sugar Pot
10" x 10" acrylic on canvas

This painting of snowdrops in a vintage sugar pot was commissioned by a dear friend of mine for his equally dear mother Jean, on the occasion of her 95th birthday. Now that her birthday has passed, I can make a post of these sweet subjects.

 Snowdrops are Jean's favourite spring blooms and she makes a point of digging up a bunch for her home every year, as soon as they show their white dangling heads. When asked by Paul, her son, if I could depict snowdrops in a painting for her, I was thrilled. This request was in late winter, so I made sure to dig up some snowdrops come spring and took many shots of them for this project. Like Jean, I prefer digging up the bulbs instead of cutting them, they last longer and they keep their natural appearance. I simply return the clump of earth with the bulbs in their original hole 

once the blooms are spent.

Knowing that Jean is a volunteer at the St Marys Museum, I thought I would use one of their vessels. To see my previous paintings depicting some of St Marys museum's artifact go here, here and here.

Thank you to Amy Cubberly, museum curator for giving me full access to choose a suitable vessel and for being so accommodating and supportive in this project.

Below are just a few examples of the museum's lovely dishware.

I wanted to show Paul these vessels to get a sense of what he would choose for his mother... and the sugar pot it was.

 A sweet little vintage sugar pot with gold leaf and painted tulips, reminiscent of the art nouveau style, full of curves.

Another of the museum's artifact is this white linen embroidered tablecloths, which would be perfect in the composition. Paul was very pleased with the addition of the tablecloth since Jean had been a member of the embroidery guild and is always appreciative of fine needlework.

So, I now had all the elements in place to start painting.

 Voila, completed.

I wanted the snowdrops to look like they had been dug up from one's backyard, along with little twigs, grass and pebbles. I also added a little bug, a six-spotted tiger beetle, which hibernates underground and is considered a 'spring insect'. It obviously was disturbed when the snowdrops were dug up and is making a discreet exit.

Dearest Paul,
Thank you so much for your support and encouragement, it's an honour to have one of my pieces in your mother's possession.

UPDATE
Below is a shot of the painting framed by its owner - beautiful job.