Early one morning, as I wandered down a Florida garden path with cup of coffee and a cell phone, I stopped in awe of a gigantic cerise-colored Hibiscus bloom. Its petal folds and the edges of its leaves were lit by the rays of the rising sun. I took several photographs. After finding an acid-free, black velvet art board, in my studio I sketched that flower onto that fuzzy substrate, and finished painting Kissing the Dawn with soft pastels. It was fun to create and resulted in such a hit that I knew someday soon I would use this medium for other works of art!

The brushed silvery finish on its hardwood frame complements this painting's lighter values of the background and highlights of the flower. The forest green suede mat draws the viewer's eye to the darker leaves which are major design elements while the deep burgundy inner mat takes one deeper into the darkest shadows of the flower itself. What I like best is that my chosen framing enhances the colors and texture of the painting itself.