Printable Vintage Art: Dahlias by Carl Moll

I found an inner strength to fight for myself. It was clear that nobody else would.
― Tehmina Durrani, My Feudal Lord

“Run towards the roar,” the old people used to tell the young ones. When faced with great danger and when people panic and seek a false sense of safety, run towards the roaring and go where you fear to go. For only in facing your fears can you find some safety and a way through. When the world rattles and the end seems near, go towards the roar.
― Michael Meade, Why the World Doesn't End: Tales of Renewal in Times of Loss

Don’t dwell too much on the past. The lessons are useful for the present and a preparation for the future. Move on!
― Lailah Gifty Akita, Pearls of Wisdom: Great Mind

Vintage painting of dahlias in a garden by Carl Moll (1861–1945); oiginally found on Wikimedia here. Digitally enhanced version can be downloaded as 7” x 7” @ 300 ppi JPEGs here.


Digitally enhanced reproductions of public domain fine art are shared under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Printable Vintage Art: Dahlias in Vases by Maurits van der Valk

Blue Glass Vase with Lilac Dahlia

Glass Vase with Red Dahlia

You have power over your mind - not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.
― Marcus Aurelius

It is good to love many things, for therein lies the true strength, and whosoever loves much performs much, and can accomplish much, and what is done in love is well done.
― Vincent Van Gogh

Man often becomes what he believes himself to be. If I keep on saying to myself that I cannot do a certain thing, it is possible that I may end by really becoming incapable of doing it. On the contrary, if I have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it even if I may not have it at the beginning.
― Mahatma Gandhi

Vintage paintings of dahlias in glass vases by Maurits van der Valk (1867–1935); oiginally found on Wikimedia here and here. Digitally enhanced versions can be downloaded as 8” x 18” @ 300 ppi JPEGs here and here.


Digitally enhanced reproductions of public domain fine art are shared under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Free Vintage Outdoor Illustration for Collage, Graphic Design, Papercrafts or Scrapbooking: Spring Flowers, 1881

Then came the healing time, hearts started to shine, soul felt so fine,
oh what a freeing time it was.
― Aberjhani

From all that I saw,
and everywhere I wandered,
I learned that time cannot be spent,
It only can be squandered.
― Roman Payne

Vintage illustration of a girl gathering wildflowers in the woods. From an 1881 engraving of the painting by William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825–1905). 7.25” x 15” @ 300 ppi JPEG without a watermark here.


From my personal collection of ephemera. These images are to be incorporated into your creative works. Not for resale “as-is.” Credit to FieldandGarden.com appreciated but not required.

Printable Vintage Art: Hollyhocks and Cats by an Unknown Artist

Hollyhocks and Cats, between 1368 and 1644
by an unknown artist

And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it.
― Roald Dahl

Believe something and the Universe is on its way to being changed. Because you've changed, by believing. Once you've changed, other things start to follow. Isn't that the way it works?
― Diane Duane

Vintage painting oiginally found on Wikimedia here. Digitally altered version can be downloaded as an 8.5” x 11” @ 300 ppi JPEG here.


Digitally enhanced reproductions of public domain fine art are shared under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Vintage Art Appreciation: Purple crocuses, cloth of gold crocus, liverwort, poppy anemones and jay, c1650

I give you this to take with you:
Nothing remains as it was.
If you know this, you can begin again,
with pure joy in the uprooting.
― Judith Minty, Letters to My Daughters
About the painting: A page of watercolours depicting seven plants and a dead Jay. The plants are two Purple crocuses (Crocus vernus Hill), a crocus from Susa (Crocus susianus Ker-Gawler), double-form liverwort (Hepatica nobilis Miller 'Caerulea Plena'), and two poppy anemones (Anemone coronaria L.). The Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius) appears to cast a shadow on the sheet, as though a real bird has fallen onto a page of painted flowers.

About the artist: Alexander Marshal (c. 1620-1682) was a talented horticulturalist, entomologist and amateur artist. He was one of a network of gardeners working in and around London in the middle of the seventeenth century, and had links with the Tradescants (who had a garden at Lambeth) and Henry Compton (who, as Bishop of London, developed a fine garden at Fulham Palace). Marshal’s careful study of plants was combined with an examination of the science of painting and he wrote in 1667 to the Secretary of the Royal Society to discuss the methods he used for making pigments. The colours in Marshal’s paintings do indeed remain impressively bright over 350 years later.

Source: Original painting and full article as it appears on the Royal Collection Trust (UK) website here.

To download my digitally enhanced version of the above painting as a 5" x 7" @ 300 ppi JPEG, please click here.


Digitally enhanced reproductions of public domain fine art are shared under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Vintage Art Appreciation: Still Life with Orchids

Still Life with Orchids, 1888
by Gustave Den Duyts (1850–1897)

“That proves you are unusual,” returned the Scarecrow;
“and I am convinced that the only people worthy of consideration
in this world are the unusual ones.
For the common folks are like the leaves of a tree, and live and die unnoticed.”
― L. Frank Baum, The Land of Oz
Vintage painting oiginally found on Wikimedia here. Digitally altered version can be found as a 5" x 8" @ 300 ppi JPEG here.


Digitally enhanced reproductions of public domain fine art are shared under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Vintage Art Appreciation: Orchids and Poppies

It is in your power to withdraw yourself whenever you desire. Perfect tranquility within consists in the good ordering of the mind, the realm of your own.
― Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

I will be calm. I will be mistress of myself.
― Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility

Laugh, even when you feel too sick or too worn out or tired.
Smile, even when you're trying not to cry and the tears are blurring your vision.
Sing, even when people stare at you and tell you your voice is crappy.
Trust, even when your heart begs you not to.
Twirl, even when your mind makes no sense of what you see.
Frolick, even when you are made fun of. Kiss, even when others are watching. Sleep, even when you're afraid of what the dreams might bring.
Run, even when it feels like you can't run any more.
And, always, remember, even when the memories pinch your heart. Because the pain of all your experience is what makes you the person you are now. And without your experience---you are an empty page, a blank notebook, a missing lyric. What makes you brave is your willingness to live through your terrible life and hold your head up high the next day. So don't live life in fear. Because you are stronger now, after all the crap has happened, than you ever were back before it started.
― Alysha Speer

Both painting are by Lovis Corinth (1858–1925). Originally found on Wikimedia here and here. Digitally altered versions of these paintings can be found as 6" x 9" @ 300 ppi JPEGs here (click on the download icon at top right of images).


Digitally enhanced reproductions of public domain fine art are shared under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Vintage Art Appreciation: Iris, Bindweed and an Ear of Corn

This love of which I speak is slow to lose patience - it looks for a way of being constructive.
Love is not possessive.
Love is not anxious to impress nor does it cherish inflated ideas of its own ideas.
Love has good manners and does not pursue selfish advantage.
Love is not touchy.
Love does not keep account of evil or gloat over the wickedness of other people. On the contrary, it is glad with all good men when truth prevails.
Love knows no limits to its endurance, no end to its trust, no fading of its hope; it can outlast anything. It is, in fact, the one thing that stands when all else has fallen.
― Elisabeth Elliot, Let Me Be a Woman

Painting is called "Iris, Bindweed and an Ear of Corn" by Cornelis van Spaendonck (1756-1839). Originally found on Wikimedia. Digitally enhanced version of the painting as a 9" x 8" @ 300 ppi JPEG here.


Digitally enhanced reproductions of public domain fine art are shared under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Vintage Art Appreciation: Cyclamens for Love

…The shaking aspect of the sea
And man’s defenceless bare face
And cyclamens putting their ears back.
Long, pensive, slim-muzzled greyhound buds
Dreamy, not yet present,
Drawn out of earth
At his toes.
Dawn-rose
Sub-delighted, stone engendered
Cyclamens, young cyclamens
Arching
Waking, pricking their ears…
― D.H. Lawrence, Sicilian Cyclamens

The name cyclamen comes from the Latin "cyclamnos" which in turn comes from the Greek "kuklaminos" and "kuklos" which means cycle, circle, or wheel. Cyclamen species are native primarily to the Mediterranean region: Greece, Italy, Cypress, Crete, Turkey, Lebanon and Israel (where they are the national flower). Some species have radiated from this center of diversity north to Belarus, south to Somalia, west to Libya, Spain and France, and east to Iran. [Source: Plant Delights]

A Chinese fairy tale tells the story of the origin of the cyclamen flower. Chang’e stole an elixir of immortality from her husband Hou Yi (the God of Archery) and then escaped to the Moon, becoming known as the Goddess of the Moon. The jade rabbit was her faithful companion. Chang’e, dearly missing her family, one day decided to pay a visit to Hou Yi. The jade rabbit, giving them privacy, chose to play in the garden. There he met a gardener and grew very fond of him. When it was time to return to the Moon, the jade rabbit took a flower seed from his ear and gifted it to the gardener. This seed sprouted into a cyclamen flower whose petals resemble the ears of a rabbit. Cyclamen is also called the ‘bunny-ear flower’ in the Far East. [Source: Pansy Maiden]

Due to its tuber which allows the cyclamen plant to withstand even the most difficult conditions, the cyclamen flower is regarded as a symbol of deep love. This is why these flowers make wonderful gifts on Valentine’s Day, along with roses. Giving someone cyclamen is a way of expressing genuine love. In Japan, this flower is called the ‘Holy Flower of Love’ and is considered as Cupid’s love child. This is another reason why it’s associated with Valentine’s Day.[Source: Symbol Sage]

Going into February and the season of love, I hope you will find an opportunity to share a cyclamen or two with a treasured partner, friend or family member. These wonderful flowers can be grouped on a windowsill or tabletop to brighten up a room during these gray, cold months. Then, as the weather warms up, plant them in a shady corner of your garden to enjoy until the autumn.

Love starts as a feeling,
But to continue is a choice;
And I find myself choosing you
More and more every day.
― Justin Wetch, Bending The Universe
Paintings:
Top ― "Cyclamens in Front of a Wallpaper Background," painted in 1935 by Josef Jungwirth (1869–1950). Originally found on Wikimedia. Digitally enhanced version of the painting as a 4" x 6" @ 300 ppi JPEG here.
Bottom ― "Cyclamen," painted in 1935 by Endre Rozsda (1913–1999). Originally found on Wikimedia. Digitally enhanced version of the painting as a 8" x 10" @ 300 ppi JPEG here.


Digitally enhanced reproductions of public domain fine art are shared under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Vintage Art Appreciation: Study of Pink Hollyhocks in Sunlight, from Nature

Hollyhock symbolism extend to the realm of Faery, as fairies were believed to use the blooms as skirts, and Hollyhock seedpods were known as fairy cheese because they resembled a cheese wheel. There is even a recipe dating from 1660 that recommends combining Hollyhock, Marigolds, Wild Thyme and Hazel buds in order to allow mortals to see the fairy folk. (Source: The Witchery Arts)

The painting seen above is titled "Study of Pink Hollyhocks in Sunlight, from Nature", painted in 1879 by John La Farge (1835–1910). Originally found on Wikimedia. Digitally enhanced version of the painting as a 4" x 5" @ 300 ppi JPEG here.


Digitally enhanced reproductions of public domain fine art are shared under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Vintage Art Appreciation: Madame Lerolle by Henri Fantin-Latour

Stephen kissed me in the spring,
Robin in the fall,
But Colin only looked at me
And never kissed at all.

Stephen’s kiss was lost in jest,
Robin’s lost in play,
But the kiss in Colin’s eyes
Haunts me night and day.
― Sara Teasdale, The Collected Poems

Altered version of a painting titled "Madame Lerolle," originally painted in 1882 by Henri Fantin-Latour (1836–1904). You can find the image of the original painting at the Cleveland Museum of Art's site or you can download my digitally enhanced version of the painting as a 12" x 16.5" @ 300 ppi JPEG here. Simply print and frame for tabletop or wall artI but could also be used as a cover for a journal or scrapbooking project.


Digitally enhanced reproductions of public domain fine art are shared under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Vintage Art Appreciation: Las Glicinas by Pedro Blanes Viale

Life doesn’t get easier or more forgiving,
we get stronger and more resilient.
― Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free

Resilience is accepting your new reality,
even if it's less good than the one you had before.
You can fight it, you can do nothing but scream about what you've lost,
or you can accept that and try to put together something that's good.
― Elizabeth Edwards
The above public domain painting is titled "Las glicinas" and it was painted in 1923 by Pedro Blanes Viale (1879–1926). Wisteria flowers have at times symbolized rejection and lost love but it is also a longstanding symbol of resilience due to the plant's hardiness and longevity.

You can find the image of the original painting on Wikimedia here and you can download my digitally enhanced version of the painting as a 13" x 14" @ 300 ppi JPEG here. I thought this might be a pretty addition to a garden journal or scrapbooking project but you can also simply print and frame for tabletop or wall art.


Digitally enhanced reproductions of public domain fine art are shared under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Vintage Art Appreciation: Elena Among Roses by Joaquin Sorolla

Elena Among Roses, 1907
by Joaquín Sorolla (1863–1923)

Let me tell you this: if you meet a loner, no matter what they tell you,
it's not because they enjoy solitude.
It's because they have tried to blend into the world before,
and people continue to disappoint them.
― Jodi Picoult, My Sister's Keeper

I care for myself. The more solitary, the more friendless, the more unsustained I am,
the more I will respect myself.
― Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre

I had already found that it was not good to be alone,
and so made companionship with what there was around me,
sometimes with the universe and sometimes with my own insignificant self;
but my books were always my friends, let fail all else.
― Joshua Slocum, Sailing Alone around the World

Vintage Art Appreciation: A Rooftop with Flowers by Joaquín Sorolla

A Rooftop with Flowers, 1906
by Joaquín Sorolla (1863 – 1923)

Every time I imagine a garden in an architectural setting,
it turns into a magical place.
I think of gardens I have seen,
that I believe I have seen, that I long to see,
surrounded by simple walls, columns, arcades or the facades of buildings -
sheltered places of great intimacy where I want to stay for a long time.
― Peter Zumthor

Perhaps love is like a resting place, a shelter from the storm.
It exists to give you comfort, it is there to keep you warm,
and in those times of trouble when you are most alone,
the memory of love will bring you home.
― John Denver

HIDEAWAY
Preserve that
secret, homey spot
in your heart,
as sanctuary
where dreams may be softly tended,
and revived.
― Tara Estacaan

Vintage Art Appreciation: Still Life with Tulips by George Clausen

Still Life with Tulips, c1923
by Sir George Clausen, RA (1852 - 1944)
Spring will come and so will happiness. Hold on. Life will get warmer.
― Anita Krizzan

The beautiful spring came, and when nature resumes her loveliness, the human soul is apt to revive also.
― Harriet Ann Jacobs

If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant; if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.
― Anne Bradstreet

The flower does not choose the soil in which it blooms, but it blossoms nonetheless. It is not the path we are given, but how we walk it that gives us strength and beauty. Embrace hardship and suffering, for they are the forging fires of the soul. Accept your destiny, for it is the canvas upon which you will paint the masterpiece of your life.
― Sambou Lamine Diaby

Vintage Art Appreciation: Camelias, Amaryllis, Hyacinth and Violets in Ornamental Pots by Johan Laurentz Jensen

Camelias, Amaryllis, Hyacinth and Violets in Ornamental Pots on a Marble Ledge, 1836
by Johan Laurentz Jensen (1800 - 1856)

The best way to not feel hopeless is to get up and do something.
Don’t wait for good things to happen to you.
If you go out and make some good things happen,
you will fill the world with hope,
you will fill yourself with hope.
― Barack Obama

Hope
Smiles from the threshold of the year to come,
Whispering 'it will be happier...'
― Alfred Tennyson

I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes.

Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You're doing things you've never done before, and more importantly, you're Doing Something.

So that's my wish for you, and all of us, and my wish for myself. Make New Mistakes. Make glorious, amazing mistakes. Make mistakes nobody's ever made before. Don't freeze, don't stop, don't worry that it isn't good enough, or it isn't perfect, whatever it is: art, or love, or work or family or life.

Whatever it is you're scared of doing, Do It.

Make your mistakes, next year and forever.
― Neil Gaiman

Vintage Art Appreciation: Christmas Eve by Carlton Alfred Smith

You can live a charmed life by causing others to live a charmed life.
That is, be the source of ‘charm’
— of charming moments and experiences — in the life of another.
Be everyone else’s Lucky Charm!
Make all who you touch today feel ‘lucky’ that you crossed their path.
Do this for a week and watch things change.
Do it for a month and you’ll be a different person.
― Neale Donald Walsch
I initially downloaded the above painting — Christmas Eve, painted by Carlton Alfred Smith (1853 – 1946) in 1901 — on Wikimedia Commons, which I then cropped and edited. You can download a high-res 6" x 4" @ 300 ppi JPEG of my digitally enhanced version here. I thought it would be interesting as a greeting card or incorporated into a collage or junk journal project but you can also simply print and frame for wall art.


Digitally enhanced reproductions of public domain fine art are shared under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Vintage Art Appreciation: Garden View with a Dog by Tomás Yepes

Garden View with a Dog, 1660s
by Tomás Yepes (1595 – 1674)
All his life he tried to be a good person. Many times, however, he failed.
For after all, he was only human. He wasn't a dog.
― Charles M. Schulz

Such short little lives our pets have to spend with us, and they spend most of it waiting for us to come home each day.
It is amazing how much love and laughter they bring into our lives and even how much closer we become with each other because of them.
― John Grogan, Marley and Me: Life and Love With the World's Worst Dog

People leave imprints on our lives, shaping who we become in much the same way that a symbol is pressed into the page of a book to tell you who it comes from. Dogs, however, leave paw prints on our lives and our souls, which are as unique as fingerprints in every way.
― Ashly Lorenzana

Vintage Art Appreciation: Wildflowers by Anna Stainer-Knittel

Wildflowers, 1889
by Anna Stainer-Knittel (1841 - 1915)

Promise Yourself

To be so strong that nothing
can disturb your peace of mind.
To talk health, happiness, and prosperity
to every person you meet.

To make all your friends feel
that there is something in them
To look at the sunny side of everything
and make your optimism come true.

To think only the best, to work only for the best,
and to expect only the best.
To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others
as you are about your own.

To forget the mistakes of the past
and press on to the greater achievements of the future.
To wear a cheerful countenance at all times
and give every living creature you meet a smile.

To give so much time to the improvement of yourself
that you have no time to criticize others.
To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear,
and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.

To think well of yourself and to proclaim this fact to the world,
not in loud words but great deeds.
To live in faith that the whole world is on your side
so long as you are true to the best that is in you.
― Christian D. Larson, Your Forces and How to Use Them

Vintage Art Appreciation: Sunlit Conservatory with Parrots by Olga Wisinger-Florian

Sunlit Conservatory with Parrots
by Olga Wisinger-Florian (1844 - 1926)
Most things are forgotten over time. Even the war itself, the life-and-death struggle people went through is now like something from the distant past. We’re so caught up in our everyday lives that events of the past are no longer in orbit around our minds. There are just too many things we have to think about everyday, too many new things we have to learn. But still, no matter how much time passes, no matter what takes place in the interim, there are some things we can never assign to oblivion, memories we can never rub away. They remain with us forever, like a touchstone.
― Haruki Murakami, Kafka on the Shore

“Sometimes," he sighed, "I think the things I remember are more real than the things I see.”
― Arthur Golden, Memoirs of a Geisha

“But that's how memory works," Bitterblue said quietly. "Things disappear without your permission, then come back again without your permission. And sometimes they came back incomplete and warped.”
― Kristin Cashore, Bitterblue