A light blue dress,
Left hand relaxes between fabric folds,
Her right delicately embracing the tall white hollyhock’s outstretched attention,
She stands alone, but not lonely.
Petaled faces gaze at her as if she is the center of their garden,
Indigo climbs up to decorate her hem, light purple sways in the gentle breeze, and
burgundy flowers blend with the same richness of color as the dark green ivy behind,
It is delicious overwhelm,
Tastes like sweet bursting joy, citrus, lemon, and orange.
She notices how the night rain gave her flowers their dew-kissed vibrance,
And how the afternoon sun casts the world in a marigold hue.
She is encased in a smiling quiet,
A soul who thrives in the presence of her own thoughts.
Silence does not frighten her,
Silence is a well-worn pathway to the rich fields of her inner imagination,
A place where hollyhocks grow in a symphony of color, and a celebration of friends can be seen in a garden of flowers.
Painter of "Hollyhocks (Among the Hollyhocks)"
Frederick Carl Frieseke was born April 7, 1874, in Owosso, Michigan, and died August 28, 1939, in the town of Le Mesmil sur Blangy, Normandy. Frieseke studied at art schools in Chicago and New York, before he left for France in 1898. At the Academie Julian he studied alongside artist Jean-Paul Laurens. Frieseke had property adjacent to Monet, but he believed Pierre Auguste Renoir to be the most influential of Impressionist painters. In 1905 he was married to Sarah O’Bryan and after World War I he and his family moved to Normandy.
Frieseke’s later paintings were usually outdoor scenes and the figures are “given greater solidity.” His paint strokes are less broken. The height of his life as an artist was during the 1910’s-1920’s.
His work was purchased by private collectors and major museums. He was perhaps the most popular of all living American artists during this time period.
Read More
Image Source