Colorful, simple, full of life, flowers are God’s paintings for all to enjoy. Purple Iris, original watercolor by Steve Henderson, sold.

The story of the painting, Purple Iris, by Steve Henderson at Start Your Week with Steve.

Flowers are God’s paintings that He put on earth for all to enjoy.

In the oddest places — the middle of the city with cement sidewalks and brick buildings and cars all around — a flower can still show its face, even if it’s “just” a dandelion.

On Steve and Carolyn’s rural property, irises flourish, not because they just naturally pop up, but because a friend of a friend collects exotic irises, and his small suburban lot cannot keep up with his hobby. So he regularly digs out the bulbs and begs his daughter, our friend, to find a place for them, please.

And we gladly accommodate.

Steve is fascinated by irises because of their tall, stately form; their petals gloriously saturated with color yet transparent as well; their honey-sweet aroma; their attitude of grace and dignity. For a brief period they bloom outrageously, demanding everyone’s attention and eclipsing the growth of other plants, and then they are done.

The petals dry up and fall, and yet the sharp, sword-like leaves stay green and strong throughout the season, a plant in their own right.

Flowers are a reminder to us that life is short, and it consists of times of flowering and not flowering — a time and season for everything, in other words. We are not purposeful and useful only when we are in what we call full bloom, because the plant lives on, all season, in some form or another, and flowering is just part of its life cycle.

Dandelions are flowers too, and if we’d stop being so grumpy about them, we might appreciate their beauty as well. Dandelions, original oil painting by Steve Henderson; licensed open edition print at Great Big Canvas, Framed Canvas Art, and iCanvasART.

Purple Iris is sold, but it is the central focus behind Steve’s Step by Step Watercolor Success DVD, which is designed for beginning and intermediate watercolor painters. Essentially a mini-workshop, Step by Step Watercolor Success walks viewers through creating a Purple Iris of their own, and the techniques used are designed to give the artist confidence and knowledge to continue producing successful paintings. A bonus sequence for another of Steve’s paintings, Lonesome Barn, is included.

Step by Step Watercolor Success is available at Amazon.com.

A wide variety of Steve’s paintings and licensed open edition prints are available through his website, Steve Henderson Fine Art. We encourage you to contact us, Carolyn@SteveHendersonFineArt.com with any questions you have about Steve’s work, and how you may own it. We work with clients closely and individually to set up a means so that you can own an original work of art.

Purple Iris is the theme for Steve’s Step by Step Watercolor Success DVD, and after successfully creating their own versions, artists move on to paint with increased confidence and ability. DVD at Amazon.com.

Shipping is free to the U.S. and Canada. All other areas, contact us and we’ll figure out the shipping charges.

Read more, and subscribe, at Start Your Week with Steve.

Check out Steve’s artwork at Steve Henderson Fine Art. Original paintings — licensed open edition prints — Santa and Holiday. Steve’s licensed work is available at Great Big Canvas, iCanvasART, Amazon.com, Light in the Box, and Framed Canvas Art.

If you are a manufacturer who would like to use Steve’s artwork on your products, please contact his agents, Matt Appelman (matt.appelman@artlicensing.com). You can see Steve’s Art Licensing page here.

Check out, also, Steve and Carolyn’s products at Amazon.com:

Live Happily on Less: 52 Ways to Renovate Your Life and Lifestyle (paperback and digital book)

Grammar Despair: Quick, simple solutions to problems like, “Do I say Him and Me or He and I?” (paperback and digital book)

Step by Step Watercolor Success (digital DVD workshop designed for beginning to intermediate watercolor students and artists)