Drawing daisies

"The meaning of flowers cannot be explained to someone who does not understand the meaning of flowers," writes Eeva Kolu in her Finnish book Korkeintaan vähän väsynyt. Like Eeva, I see no reason to even try; flowers either fascinate you or they don’t.

As late August approaches, the mornings turn a little crisp, and it feels nice to revisit the flower drawings of midsummer.

The daisies found their way onto my drawing table without thought about symbolism. While drawing, I focused on shades and shapes. The trick was layering several tones of white so that some flowers rose forward, others sank into the background, and the whole composition came alive.

Later I read about their symbolism and discovered many meanings. Today daisies are often associated with peace and happiness, while in the Victorian era they also represented purity and innocence.

Perhaps the most intriguing meaning, however, was the idea of secrets. Either the ability to keep them or, in an artistic context, hidden meanings within a work, with daisies serving as a clue.

By that measure, suppose this drawing holds many secrets…