Empower The Flower - Surrealistic Mountain Art

Acrylic on 24"x36"x.75" canvas

Artist Statement: "This piece of the Reverie collection was inspired by my invigoration with surrealism and the mountains. The intricacy in the color combinations within each stroke captures the essence of all of the colors in nature and how they combine to create something new and beautiful each and everyday. The array of colors also represents the changing of Earth's flowers. Flowers are having to darken their pigment, in order to survive the rising temperatures and declining ozone."

Petal Pigment Information:

"As the world’s climate changes, plants and animals have adapted by expanding into new territory and even shifting their breeding seasons. Now, research suggests that over the past 75 years, flowers have also adapted to rising temperatures and declining ozone by altering ultraviolet (UV) pigments in their petals.

Flowers’ UV pigments are invisible to the human eye, but they attract pollinators and serve as a kind of sunscreen for plants, says Matthew Koski, a plant ecologist at Clemson University. Just as UV radiation can be harmful to humans, it can also damage a flower’s pollen. The more UV-absorbing pigment the petals contain, the less harmful radiation reaches sensitive cells.

Though surprising, the finding “makes total sense,” says Charles Davis, a plant biologist at Harvard University who was not involved with the work. Pollen hidden within petals is naturally shielded from UV exposure, but this extra shielding can also act like a greenhouse, trapping heat. When these flowers are exposed to higher temperatures, their pollen is in danger of being cooked, he says. Reducing UV pigments in the petals causes them to absorb less solar radiation, bringing down temperatures." 

10% of this Original will be donated to:

Center For Plant Conservation

https://saveplants.org/donate/ 

For more information:

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/09/flowers-are-changing-their-colors-adapt-climate-change#:~:text=Just%20as%20UV%20radiation%20can,harmful%20radiation%20reaches%20sensitive%20cells.