We’ve all heard the adage “a picture is worth a thousand words” which has its roots back in the early 1900’s referring to newspapers and journalism where a complex idea could be expressed in a single visual image. As a photographer and visual artist, I know not only ideas can be expressed thought images, but emotions, memories and personal meaning can also be communicated.

Many of my flower photographs are purchased by people who have a particular connection with a type of flower. So often at shows people pick up one of my photos and share their stories of how they picked pink lady’s slippers in the woods with their grandmothers or that the blue hydrangeas are just like the one’s they had in their wedding bouquet. Not only are people responding to the pure aesthetics of a beautiful image, but they may also be making an association, whether conscious or not, of something personal and meaningful to them.

I’d like to share some work by a fellow visual artist, Pat Fiorello. Pat is a talented painter and art instructor.  You may have seen some of her work on my new FB group “Beautiful Flower Pictures”.

One thing Pat is especially known for is painting exquisite flowers and she has cultivated (no pun intended) a specialty in painting bridal bouquets.  I recently asked Pat  how this came about and she shared the following story that I knew I had to share with all of you:

“I have always loved flowers and they are one of my favorite painting subjects. My last name, Fiorello, comes from the Latin, ‘One who lives near a wall of flowers’, so maybe it’s no accident that I create flowers for others to hang on their walls.

Last year, both of my stepchildren got married within a few weeks of each other. In planning the weddings, I came up with the idea to create a painting as a special gift for each of the brides. At the first wedding, I met the florist as she was setting up and I was sneaking around taking photo’s of the flowers before anyone else arrived.

After the wedding we talked and I shared that I wanted to paint the bridal bouquet. She thought it was a great idea. Often brides asked her about preserving their bouquets and some of the other options like freeze drying etc.. just never captured the colors and freshness of the original.

I began offering “Forever Bouquet Paintings” as a special keepsake of your wedding day – one that’s not kept in a box in the attic somewhere, but is displayed in their home to enjoy each and every day.  I can create the painting from a photo so have worked with brides from other states and even as far away as Australia. One of my recent brides shared with me that she hung the bouquet painting that she received as a gift from her mom over her nightstand. This way the first thing she sees in the morning and the last thing she sees at night reminds her of the of the joy of her wedding day.  There is no better feeling for an artist than to know that something you have created has brought beauty and special meaning into someone’s life.”

To learn more about artist Pat Fiorello you can visit her website at www.PatFiorello.com and her bridal bouquets can be found on http://patfiorello.com/wedding_bouquet.html.  You can also follow her on facebook.com/PatFiorelloArtist