It is also one of the most popular paintings featuring flowers. Georgia O’Keeffe created Blue Morning Glories in 1938 using the Precisionism style for which O’Keeffe is known.
Description of the Blue Morning Glories
This painting is quite simple. It features a close-up image of a blue flower. Georgia carefully and beautifully utilized colors to make the painting quite sharp and vivid. The painting’s background is very light, whereas the top of the flower features a dark shadow. Additionally, the painting’s bottom is made entirely in light with no harsh dark shadows. Some critics suggest that O’Keeffe did this to indicate that the flower is dying.
This painting is also a great example of color theory. This is because its main colors are cool, blue and purple. However, there are also hints of yellow, a warm color. This color application creates contrast within the piece. The flower in this painting is quite enlarged. Georgia used the size of the flower to catch the viewer’s attention. The way she used the color was aimed at making the image more enchanting.
Inspiration
Georgia O’Keeffe loved to paint flowers, plants, vegetables, and shells. Her motivation was her intense passion for the simple things in life, especially nature. O’Keeffe was often frustrated by the fast pace of life. Therefore, she would use her paintings to help viewers stop and experience nature's simple beauties, like a still photo of an up-close flower. For this reason, most of her paintings featured enlarged, sharp, and precisely defined objects that would capture the attention of viewers.
She did this because she believed that no one really looks at flowers up close and properly. Some critics suggest that she also loved to paint flowers because they are a representation of female sexuality. Her paintings were also inspired by her surroundings’ isolation and beauty in Northern New Mexico, where she lived.
Similar works
The Morning Glories appeared a lot in her work because they bloom and wilt on the same day. This aspect captivated her a lot. They were also very common in residence in New Mexico. She was also inspired by the fact that these flowers represented love and morality in Victorian times. She also made other flower paintings like poppy, calla lilies, iris, petunia, and jimson weed. She is also known for her earlier paintings of skyscrapers in New York.