The Yellow Orchid in Art
From the time people began painting and sculpting, flowers have been a popular subject for artists everywhere. Orchids, especially, because of their vibrant colors and showy blossoms, are a favorite all over the world.
Museum-Quality Art
For over 4,000 years, orchids have been a subject of Asian painting. Traditional Asian paintings, often done on larger-than-life size scrolls, might depict a single pink, red, or yellow orchid plant. Plum blossoms and bamboo were other popular subjects.
From the time that Europeans first began exploring the rest of the world, they started producing exquisite botanical print albums. Originally, an artist would hand-draw a flower or plant from several different angles, very close up. Then, he would hand-paint each of his drawings to match the original specimen. To Europeans back at home, these books were catalogues of the exotic and fantastic. Today, a single antique botanical print of the finest quality can sell for thousands of dollars.
In the early 20th century, European glassmakers and American potters were working in the new styles of art nouveau, arts and crafts, and art deco. The French glassmaker Daum was one of the most famous artists. Sothebys auction house recently sold a Daum vase decorated in a yellow orchid motif for over 00.
In a very different style, Wedgwood has also made a yellow orchid vase. The vases were unusual for Wedgwood as they had yellow bodies instead of blue. However, the applied decorations were in all white, as usual.
Georgia OKeeffe, an American artist known for her canvases showing close up views of flowers, painted a white and yellow orchid in 1941 which today hangs in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. However, gallery-listed fine art is not the only place to find a decorative yellow orchid image.
Contemporary Art
Today, orchids are still a popular design motif, appearing on everything from t-shirts to postage stamps. Many artists, even if they have never been exhibited in a major museum produce beautiful paintings in watercolor, oil, or other media of striking blooms. A nice painting of a yellow orchid can really set off a room decorated with other hues of yellow.
In a more modern setting, consider photographs. Many amateur and professional photographers offer copies of their work on the Internet. Some are already framed and ready to hang. A quick Internet search for the phrase yellow orchid photograph will bring up thousands of examples.
At the same time, if it is starved of light, it will never flower.
Lateral Sepals Spread
Finally, there is potting to consider when caring for your orchid.
Start by placing some of the artificial moss into the vase until you have filled approximately one foot of the vase. Repot the orchid plant if you come to detect signs of excessive retention of water at the roots. The pink lady slipper is the official wild flower of New Hampshire. Check your phone book for any specialty orchid retailers or wholesalers. The repotted plant is not to be watered for at least three weeks; instead, wetting the medium, leaves, and the bulb of the repotted plant with a hand-spray is more advisable. The flower of the Cattleya also has five petals, but its mouth is a long tube, very reminiscent of a daffodil.
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