“I had to create an equivalent for what I felt about what I was looking at – not copy it.”  – Georgia O’Keefe.

Maria and I visited Georgia O’Keefe’s stunning home in New Mexico when we went there together a few years ago.

I never imagined anyone would compare a photograph of mine with a painting of hers, and I can’t accept the comparison, kind as it is. I would never compare myself with her. I didn’t create an equivalent for what I felt about the flowers; I just copied them.

All I had to do was point and focus my camera; the machine did the rest.

I wonder if O’Keefe was in my mind.

I don’t think so, but she was often on my mind.

The comparisons of my pictures to her work had me humble and mumbling,  I never thought I’d live long enough to receive them.

Georgia Totto O’Keeffe was an American modernist artist, as Wikipedia reports. She was known for her paintings of enlarged flowers, New York skyscrapers, and New Mexico landscapes.

She is an artistic legend and is often referred to as the “Mother of American modernism.”

I know very little about modernism or art, to be honest. I’ve always loved O’Keefe’s work and her beautiful floral interpretations, and read everything I could find about her life.

What touches me about her is her fierce individualism and determination to define herself and her work even as the world kept describing her.  She was both brilliant and fearless, a potent combination. Once she got older, she never again let other people tell her what to do.

She had no patience for people who lectured her about a convention or tradition, she was a creative genius and a brilliant marketer. Few artists are good at both.

When I look at my Gladiolas, I frankly never thought about her and her floral paintings. I remember thinking how sensual and evocative they were and how drawn I was to get close to them. They do evoke the feminine for me.

Perhaps O’Keefe was in the back of my mind. I do know I’m not worthy of being compared to her.

But she has always gotten into the deep corners of my imagination; I am grateful to her for the inspiration if it was hers.

I think she helped me recognize the beauty in these flowers; I didn’t create or paint them.

These gladiola photos are getting to me. I do seem to keep turning back to them.

They do seem sensual and spiritual. Nature can be so beautiful and graceful as to take my breath away. My photographs have helped me to see that.

I appreciate the good words about them; I see something compelling in photographing flowers; I’m not sure I’ve ever gotten so many compliments about anything I’ve put on the blog.

Thank you.