Everything which originates from pure love is lit with the radiance of beauty.

SIMONE WEIL

Here we are, back for my series Life: From A to Z, and the letter “R” made me think of the word RADIANCE. And nothing is more radiant than love, a beautiful woman, and an amazing peony in full bloom. Believe it or not, I had never seen a peony before yesterday and—oh my God—they’re the most beautiful flowers that I’ve ever seen! Talk about intricate details.

My mother turned 85 the other day, and my sister and her family brought the flowers over when they came to celebrate with us. Every time I walked by the vase I could smell their delicate scent, and I literally watched them bloom over the course of 12 or 14 hours.

Anyway, I started working on the featured image yesterday with the intention of painting “radiance” around the sketched woman—with watercolor brushes in Photoshop. I thought about surrounding her with light, or leaves, or some kind of petals. After walking by the peonies at least 100 times today I realized that what I really needed to incorporate into the piece was a photograph of one. And so here we have it… a portrait of radiance.

I always think of radiance as inner beauty shining through, with that inner beauty coming from traits or characteristics like kindness, joy, confidence, or even motherhood. I didn’t even think about love until I found the quote, and I think that love sums it up perfectly. When we do anything out of love, that love shines and radiates, and those who are the recipients feel their hearts warmed by the radiance of love.

Love isn’t as prevalent as it used to be, before the virus came and changed the world, but I have confidence that it will return. We were created out of love, so that we could love others, and nothing can change or extinguish that flame.

About the Peonies

Although I already talked about my image, I wanted to add that I have a lot of peony photographs now… so there are more to come!! I shall never tire of the peony!

That’s about all for now. Thank you for reading or stopping by. I hope you found something useful or enjoyable here! Until next time…

Peace & Love