Floral Surprise: Capturing Nature’s Unplanned Beauty

4 weeks ago 2 Comments by cmartzloff Flowers

Floral Surprise – 7″ x 5″ Oil on panel – $135

This small landscape began along a trail I’ve walked many times, a place that quietly shifts through the seasons. I painted it in 2022. I was drawn to the way the forms seemed to gather and loosen at once. Greens rose and folded back into one another. Color carried as much meaning as the land itself. I later returned to this image at a much larger scale. This allowed it to become more atmospheric. That painting found its home earlier this year. Still, this earlier version holds something essential for me.

What continues to move me about this place are the wild coneflowers that effortlessly appear without planning. They aren’t planted or tended—they simply arrive. That presence feels miraculous to me. It reminds me that some things don’t need my involvement to exist. The trail changes as the seasons pass. In many ways, I do too. Yet, the quiet certainty of those flowers returning remains. All I must do is receive their beauty. This painting carries that sense of trust and unfolding—something I continue to follow in my work.

If this piece resonates with you in some way, I’d love to hear what connects with you.