The Angel’s Trumpet

During the quarantine period, as I embarked on numerous walks, I familiarized myself with the local flora of Beverly Hills, including plants, bushes, flowers, and trees. For this particular plant portrait, I sought to blend the artistic styles of Georgia O’Keeffe’s “Petunias” (1925) and Henri Rousseau’s “Tiger in a Tropical Storm” (1891). Both artists exhibited a sense of artistic seclusion within their respective styles, and I felt compelled to merge their works with my own.

The featured flower in this image is known as an Angel’s Trumpet or Belladonna. Notably, it possesses toxic properties. My research revealed that in medieval times, women used to extract its essence and dilate their eyes to enhance their attractiveness to others. In modern science, it is employed for eye dilation purposes; however, ingestion of this flower can prove fatal. Even mere contact with its petals can cause skin irritation. Despite its dangers, I found this flower to possess a captivating beauty, prompting me to create a painting that juxtaposes its lethal allure.