This is the only reel I have made that has come close to going viral. I made it while I was still in the middle of painting it, and I don't know why this one was seen when others are not, but it made me happy that day! It had 35,000+ views, 700 likes, and brought me a bunch of new Instagram followers.
The reel shows a painting half-way done on my easel with beautiful music behind it. Its so simple. The painting has a few plants from my own garden - yellow yarrow (because I didn't know that it was less medicinal than white at the time), garden sage, and mint. It isn't a recipe for anything, just three plants that I thought were beautiful together.
This is the first painting in which I included the roots. Since then I have been invested in including them because they are lovely and also a physical reminder of the connection to the earth.
I have tried to replicate this formula with other paintings and I haven't had a repeat of the success of this video.
But I love this painting. I painted a honey bee on handmade paper and stitched it with gold thread into the center of the roots.
I painted a butterfly on paper and stitched it off to the right, standing on a yarrow stem. In the shape of leaves and circles around the plants I have text about the folklore and medicine of the plants in the painting.
This was the first painting where all of these things, which are now standard in my work, first happened.
Yarrow and Garden Sage
24" x 24"
oil on canvas with oil on paper collage
framed
Available on my website.