Spring had arrived at the Missouri Botanical Garden.  Plants and trees were beginning to awaken.  In Missouri, the Forsythia bloom is one of the first harbingers of spring.  The species begins each growing season with a magnificent show of bright yellow flowers.  I arrived at the garden late morning.  The sky was very slightly overcast. 

My primary goal for this painting was to capture the beauty of the Forsythia bloom at the Missouri Botanical Garden.  They are frequent in the garden, but finding a good vantage point requires careful consideration.  The view needed to depict depth in the planting as well as convey a sense of place.  Manmade structures in the garden are sparse, but including one in the composition would communicate the setting effectively.  This planting of Forsythia exists near the Statue of Victory (of Science over Ignorance), a magnificent white monument.  This monument was originally designed by Henry Shaw to be his eventual place of rest, but Henry became displeased with how the stone aged and constructed another from granite.  The newer granite tomb resides 30 yards south of this monument.  Looking southeast across the planting and towards the Statue of Victory monument, I found a wonderful composition.  In addition to communicating the sense of place well, the monument was in shade, providing a large purple shape (yellow's complement) that heightens the visual impact of the yellow Forsythia.