“(A)fter the flowers” is a reflection. Love when we feel it seems eternal. But it soon turns out to be something that two people have to work at to maintain and deepen every day assiduously. Without this mutual effort, love will fade like romantic flower presents, leaving the beloved alone and forlorn. There are several formal elements in this pastel and marker work that contribute to the theme:
1. Composition
The work is divided into an abstract landscape with sky and flowers distributed across the upper part of the canvas, while the lower part showcases a woman who looks like she has been crying. Her seated posture suggests she is suffering. Ironically, she is dressed in casual floral print clothes which mock the many flowers she received when her partner was courting her. There is a wasp in one of the flowers on the right side, foreshadowing the future pain within the gift of flowers.
There is an open space in the middle or hole in the spiral suggesting a void or a transition, reinforcing the idea of love fading away once its initial bloom is gone.
2. Color Palette
The vibrant colors (pinks, reds, yellows, blues, greens and purples) dominating the flowers and the background create a sense of vitality and emotion, symbolizing the initial stages of love. But the darker, earth-toned colors and black suggest a melancholic shift, representing being alone and forlorn after love fades.
3. Use of Space:
The crowded nature of the flowers at the top contrasted with the more open, sparse space around the figure below emphasizes the disconnection and loneliness felt when love ceases to be mutually nurtured. have the flowers stopped coming? Have they left her world?
4. Varying Line Thickness
The work uses lines of varying thickness to symbolize the dynamic and often unpredictable nature of love. Thinner, delicate lines represent fragile moments, while bolder, thicker lines could symbolize intense emotions or critical points in a relationship.
5. F a lowing Curves
Curved lines create a sense of movement and fluidity, depicting the constant evolution of feelings within a relationship. These lines might illustrate the ebb and flow of love, which, without continuous nurturing, can wane and disappear.
On the other hand, the jagged and broken lines are conflicts and misunderstandings that arise in any relationship. These disruptions, if not addressed through mutual effort and communication, can lead to the solitary state suggested in the title.
