When the smoke from the Canadian Wildfires first drifted into south central Pennsylvania, I thought it was just a humid, hazy day. But as the week went on, and news reports started rolling in, the skies grew hazier and hazier. It was surreal to be outside, peering at the sun, which was reduced to an eerie orange globe hanging in the sky.

But from an artists’ perspective, the light was stunning. Shifting everything it touched into a spectrum of warm colors leaning towards orange. It was beautiful.

I had been painting spring flowers and picked up a fresh pink peony bouquet, from local flower grower Spring Valley Farm PA, and it had this pink peony stem with three buds. Usually the extra buds are stripped off, but these were all well developed and ready to open. That evening, I set them up in my studio and prepared for a sunrise painting session the next day.

What a change to mix up a palette full of warm colors that all leaned slightly towards orange. Mixing colors for the stems and leaves took a few adjustments to get right, but wow, how fun to explore a different range of greens.

Throughout the summer months, as the smoke drifted in and out of our area, I spent a lot of time in the garden observing. It was apparent that growth and flowering was slowed. Everything felt very still.

I tried to capture that feeling in this floral painting. Life was still growing and moving, but it felt as if it was in slow motion.

It was interesting to see how the warm light shifted color. Even the shadows were more interesting, leaning darker, and even more towards a cool, deep blue green.

If this peony painting taught me one thing, it was to slow down and observe. Who knows if wildfires will ever send smoke this way again. Spending those few months that it lingered in our area observing and taking in how it shifted the atmosphere, veiled the sun, and cast interesting colors across everything it touched was a unique experience. One I will surely remember.

I’m glad I took the opportunity to create a botanical painting that documented that beautiful orange glow.

All words and images © 2024 Christine Mercer-Vernon