The Clever Clover
Updated: Aug 9, 2021
When I was a child, I loved lying in the grass to comb through clover, searching for one with four leaves. I don't recall being very lucky in my search, but I know there are many 4-leaf clovers around because my grandson has found several!
Because I look at many things in the world with an eye that imagines how I would recreate it on a canvas, the experience of lying on the ground looking over a clover patch has a different thrill than when I was a child. I love examining the shades of green found among the leaves closest to the sun and the darker shades close to the ground!
The array of colors inspired me to capture this up-close and personal painting of a clover patch, even though the color is all shades of green. It not only reminds me of lazy summer days laughing with my little sister while lying in the grass but reminds me that there are shades of green that outdo the swatches in a paint store!
I love the subtle tap of sunlight on the upper leaves slightly bent on end toward the ground and the seeming surge of the shorter leaves to try to soak up sunlight. Green is far from my favorite color, but I love that something as simple as clover can appear in various shades of green--almost lime green to nearly blue-gray, depending on where it lies in the depths of the field it grows in.
Take a moment to enjoy the clever clover (see the larger photo below). While it's impossible to capture the breeze that will change the shadows from second to second, imagine this clover field gently blown from side to side in the wind. Can you smell the sweet smell of clover blended into the grass? Take note of the ones most touched by the sun and the ones most hidden in the shadows. Can you feel how cool it is on the ground in the shade of all those leaves? No wonder my tiny pup loves burying his nose deep into the bottom of a clover patch!
Isn't God's creation amazing? If you've never really thought about how fascinating is a field of clover, take your next lunch break outside on a picnic blanket and savor their beauty.
This painting is for sale. Click here.
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