A Poinsettia For Monet, an original acrylic painting
20" X 24" canvas, unframed,
( click on image to enlarge )
In the 1820's, the American envoy to Mexico, Joel Roberts Poinsett, sent a wild plant
he had collected there, back to his home in South Carolina. That plant, which became
known as the poinsettia, has proliferated until it now conquers America with an annual,
red tide of Christmas cheer. This is the season when the plants are unavoidable.
They are everywhere, in our homes, in our shops, in our churches, in our theaters and
concert halls, in our hospitals and even our funeral homes. It is said, that seventy million
of the plants are sold every year, during a six week period.
Although the Poinsettia has undoubtedly been a financial success, providing jobs and
income for many people, it is not a universally appreciated plant. Some people seem to
find them too flamboyantly gaudy, in their extravagant redness. I seem to recall a
well-known American author describing them as "hideous". But now, as the old year
closes, we should all be a little thankful that we can still have the annual invasion of
bright red cheeriness, to take our minds off of the tragedies and stupidities of 2019,
and give us some hope for a better year in 2020.
It is their very uncompromising redness which makes poinsettias a challenge to paint.
All of those masses of red bracts spreading out in such abundance, might suggest to an
artist, that doing something on the order of a red Rothko, color-field painting, could be
the best approach to capturing the feel of the subject. But I was reminded that Paul
Gauguin was never intimidated by any kind of over-abundant or flamboyant, tropical
plants, and Claude Monet was the master of the ever-changing light on brightly petaled lilies.
So picked up a canvas to try an impressionist, experiment with a Christmas
poinsettias theme. Perhaps I was channeling my inner Gauguin as I worked on all
those flaming, red bracts, which, because of their star-shaped arrangement, are said
to symbolize the Star Of Bethlehem. I added the three, golden pears, as a bit of extra
symbolism, for the arrival of the three kings, on the twelfth day of Christmas.
Eugene P. McNerney
