Autumn Brown-eyed Susans

Oil on Canvas  6"x 6"

On Monday, when I showed my never-misses-a-beat hubby, Ian, the Pass the Salt painting, he pointed out that I've painted that salt shaker/tomato combination before.

"I know," I said, barely concealing a childish whine.

"Give me something new," he said.

As he turned back to his laptop, I rolled my eyes ever so slightly. In the moment of such an interchange, it is hard to say your partner is right, but that afternoon, I visited a consignment store to search for new still life objects.

This chubby copper vase appealed to me and on my next morning walk, I picked a few stems from the last stand of "brown-eyed susans". That was my mom's name for rudbeckia and I thought of her while I painted them. She still likes flowers despite losing a grasp on reality due to her Alzheimer's disease.

Thanks, Ian for being honest with your reactions to my paintings. I promise to never roll my eyes at you again. (Fingers crossed behind my back).