Home Sweet Flamboyant Home

 

Sensitive thoughts shared by a special artist

Home in the Valley

“The presence of the flamboyant tree in one’s yard is not only a joyous presence but a noble, dignified one. It fits into the surroundings and uplifts it. It stands out seen from afar as a signal and a symbol of beauty and majesty. People are proud of their flamboyant tree. It emits a quality of consciousness. Here among century-old buildings it is ancient and remains young; it has a timeless presence.”

Morning Walk

“Painting “en Plein Air” whether in the country or in town, always has a story, a narrative that evolves unplanned yet which becomes the story of the painting.  First, the red tree calls me to it. 

Then a mother and child walk by, holding hands. Then the children across the street see me and come to see what I’m doing. They ask if I can paint people too.  

‘Yes,’ I say. 
‘Can you paint us, too?’
I nod.

They run back to their yard and home and pose for me. Thus, a story evolves unplanned, triggered by the red tree which called me.”

Under the Flamboyant Tree

Even the most humble and modest abode takes on a regal quality by the presence of the largest red flowering tree in the world. No wonder that it is called the Royal Poinciana tree. Even the tethered sheep seem to bask in its glow.  

Courtyard Petria with Flamboyant Arbor

No matter where it is present, the flamboyant tree, by the nature and majesty of its color, draws, compliments and enriches everything around it. It does not dominate or suffocate but enriches and brings out the specialness of other colors. Here in the courtyard, the purple petria glows in its own specialness. The greens are more hardy, the blue sky rejoices in its endless space and the yellow happily flits and glows, all surrounding the stately, sturdy presence of the Flamboyant tree.

Sucker Garden Neighbors

The magnetic aura which attracts me to the Flamboyant tree is often my passport into people’s yards and lives. Without its radiance, I would not have reason to ask to come into their yard, but because of its compelling attractiveness, I discover a world of human life. The Flamboyant tree is like a passport to a world of discovery.  It’s color, a catalyst to the unveiling of a rich world which happily allows me to share for a time in the flamboyant season.  

Flamboyant, Colombier

From my earliest memory, I have always loved the red flamboyant tree.  Now, in my feelings of that love, I am beginning to understand that the color Red is the symbol of something Divine.  It radiates a transformative, uplifting, ennobling, joyous presence that is nothing less than a spiritual quality, not only felt but also seen.

Marigot Flamboyant with View of Fort Louis

Even in town, the flamboyant tree gathers beneath its outstretched branches like a mother hen, offering shelter, cool shade, fragrant smell, and for a season, a timelessness that infolds the ancient walls of the fort on the hill, the abandoned home, the people in conversation, all magically united and dignified by its presence.  


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Ariel Chiang