Golden Glow in My Iris Garden

Golden Glow in My Iris Garden came together in an unexpected way. I knew the colors I wanted to work with—gold, soft creams, gentle lavenders, deep purples, olive and deep greens, but I didn't have an image in mind when I started painting it. For this piece, I just followed where the colors were taking me.

I built layer after layer of petal-shaped brush marks, each with dozens of fine lines of color as I normally do. Then, one evening, I paused and stepped back. I looked at the piece from close up and farther away.

What I saw made my breath skip.

A beautiful collection of the colors of an iris garden growing in rich, nourishing soil, glimmering in the golden hour of the day—with the beams of setting sunlight peeking through the stems and iris flowers.

I knew right away it was time to stop.

How did I know? Well, it's a balance of things—the distribution of the colors, the sense of weight and balance to the painting, the flow of the work, how it looks in different light, and the story it tells—all of that feeds into whether or not a painting is done. This special work of Joy brings me a delicious sense of peace and contentment—a quiet Joy.

Artist: Sarah C.B. Guthrie
Dimensions: 24 x 36 in
Original artwork