Dogwood Blossom Dreams
North Carolina
I really wanted to move to North Carolina because it meant I would be closer to family in Ohio and not too far away from my family in Florida. After living in Florida for 13 years, I longed for the change of seasons. I fell in love with Raleigh, and together we built our dream home. Our new home came with plans for me to have a very large studio in the third-floor space. It was a dream. Our family room had a large stone fireplace and seven large windows that encased the one side of the room and opened up a view to our backyard. We moved in over Thanksgiving weekend, as the last of the autumn leaves fell from the trees.
That spring before we packed up to leave, the dogwood trees bloomed filling up the outer edge of our yard with beauty.
I didn’t want to leave my dream home with its wooded lot, and our good neighbors. I loved my new church, and I wanted to live the rest of my life in that house, picturing my grand kids there. But as fast as we moved in, we moved out and headed for Southern California. There was a new job waiting for my husband, replacing the one he had for 14 years after he had been caught up in a company downsizing.
Southern California
They don’t have Dogwood trees in Southern California. Somewhere in my mind and deep in my heart, Dogwood blossoms became synonymous with lost dreams, big lost dreams.
Texas
I found Dogwood trees again when I moved to Texas, not as plentiful, making them even more of a treasure to me. Recently I went hiking in East Texas and was able to photograph these lovely trees in bloom, taking each shot as a reminder that dreams can come true.
When I decided to paint this series of Dogwood Blossoms, I came to my own realization that it is time to gather all the lost dreams and let them bloom again. I painted all of the colors of dogwood I could find, wanting these watercolor paintings to be wonderful. I made an agreement with myself to take my time with them, to paint them the best I could. My desire was to create a collection that would make people fall in love with Dogwood Blossoms, if they hadn’t already.
