Oil on canvas – 16 x 10,5 inch – Unique work

As Paul is in the car with his parents to visit his grandparents in a tiny village in eastern France, he tilts his head slightly to the rear right window and begins to daydream.

Something catches his attention. But what ? He couldn’t tell. Over the kilometers, rocked by the radio, this thing becomes clearer. First of all, it’s a color. It is a bright color, to dazzle, to amaze. He approaches it gradually, as the road turns. His parents have been off the highway for a while now and the landscape is getting clearer, sharper, more precise. This color can now be seen in his field of view. He can name it: red.

Paul is fascinated, attracted. If he had the steering wheel in his hands, he would steer the car towards those bright spots among the huge yellow fields. He is like hypnotized. A voice pulls him out of his sleepiness. It’s his mom calling him. The car no longer drives. It takes a few minutes before he realizes they are in a parking lot, it is time for lunch and the weather is amazing. No red …

As the little family takes to the road back, Paul, staring behind the same window, watches. Just a few kilometers and the magic happens again. That’s when he asks his parents what exactly these red balls are in the middle of the yellow fields. His mom laughs and explains the whole story. In fact, it is flowers, poppies, which invade the wheat fields. And why ? To help them grow back. Paul is stunned. Which amuses his parents a lot. They have an idea …

Suddenly the car comes to a stop … right in front of a wheat field … and hundreds of … poppies. If Heaven exists… it is right here and right now. Paul rushes out, and to the edge of the field, right there, within easy reach, a poppy that flutters in the wind. He reaches out and brushes the flower. She is so soft but seems so fragile… He also knows now that she only lives for a few days. No need to pick it up, it will not survive. She is fabulous. Paul is under her spell. What a wonderful name too poppy.