Pictured: "Midnight Rainbow Orchids" acrylic painting
Order prints of Midnight Rainbow Orchids from Geo Galleries here
I originally wrote this section of this post on Medium on January 1st, 2024:
“Midnight Rainbow Orchids” is a new acrylic painting created for New Year’s. I was thinking about how so many people create resolutions at this time of year, but none of us really know if this will be “our year,” or what the next year will bring.
Surely 2024 will have ups and downs, just like any other year. To represent the possibilities for this upcoming year, I painted “Midnight Rainbow Orchids.”
The orchids in this painting come in blue, purple, pink and yellow to represent all of life’s possibilities. The background is black to represent stillness and quiet, and the white in the orchids are for hopes, dreams and renewal. There are lots of green leaves to represent growth- however that may look to you!
I don’t normally line my flowers in black lines, but I decided to because this piece needed visual clarity. They also represent clarity for your life next year- that can mean defining your goals in a logical way, or even just understanding yourself better.
I personally don’t do New Year’s resolutions, but I do give myself new goals at the beginning of each month. Whatever your dreams are next year, I hope they include growth.
Here's why reading this today feels especially significant:
Almost a year after originally writing this blog- the week of Christmas, 2024, I suffered a severe, debilitating injury. In 2024, I entered my second year as a high school health science teacher. The second year of teaching was easier than the first but still challenging. I seriously considered changing school districts to see if that would ease some of my work challenges. My concerns suddenly switched from professional concerns to personal. My injury happened at home and included but was not limited to- one of my vertebrae being pulled out of place in two different directions and bone fragments from my spine pressing on my nerves.
My 2025 was filled with numerous downs- my life felt full of valleys. In February 2025, I underwent back surgery, followed by two months of restrictions. After two months, I was cleared to return to teaching and started physical therapy. After almost five months of physical therapy, I was discharged and continued to work on my own. Finally, as I write this in 2026, I am close to where I want my strength and endurance to be.
Looking at this painting now, I think about how devastating my injury was, and how I was able to persevere and even grow from the hardships I faced. Even without injury or hardship, we can grow more and more each day.