Scarlet Intervals

About this piece

Mike Gedj frames the layered red bracts of a heliconia behind a strong diagonal green stem. Yellow edges, small surface marks, and suspended droplets lend texture to a composition defined by saturated color and intersecting forms.

The story

I moved close enough for the surrounding foliage to soften into green, leaving the red bracts to fill the frame. A thick stem crossed in front of them, interrupting their repeated curves, and I kept it there rather than searching for an unobstructed view. Small droplets caught the light along its surface. What held me was that crossing: the flower partly concealed, its color no less vivid for being seen through another part of the plant.