The Arrival Of Spring

G often reads to me when I'm painting and one of the books I enjoyed most recently is Spring Cannot Be Cancelled, which describes David Hockney's experience of painting the arrival of spring in his garden in Normandy. The garden featured in this painting isn't in Normandy but the sense of joy Hockney describes is exactly the same joy I experienced when I came upon this scene in a little botanical garden in Southern California. The garden was in full bloom and colour seemed to be everywhere, from the vast banks of flowers gaily stacked up on top of each other, to the giant coral tree in the centre, its branches heavy with scarlet blossom, to the dappled pink path running like a river through it all. It was a veritable ode to joy and as I stood there lost in wonder, a riot of daisies at my feet, Hockney's phrase "the arrival of spring" came into my mind. It seemed a fitting title for such a glorious scene and what an absolute joy it was to paint!