Description
The African Tulip tree is one of the most invasive species on the island. That being said, it truly is a beautiful tree with it’s bright orange flowers and seed pods. Orange is the color of “happy” which is what inspired me to want to paint it. Our neighbors have this tree, and it drops flowers and pods into our yard after a windy day or heavy rains. My yard is where I spend most of my time lately, especially during Covid. When this cluster “visited” me in my yard I used it as inspiration for the title as well. I decided to crop in tightly as not to reveal the whole flower, just the seed pods. The reason for this was two-fold. One, to give the viewer a close-up view of what is normally so far from the eye when it’s perched high in the tree. The second was to remember what it felt like to be close to other people at a gathering such as concerts, parties, or just to hug!