The answer was YES! (Even though I had never painted a magnolia before!đ)
But, the question immediately brought me back to my childhood in south Louisiana. We had a 100 foot tall magnolia tree in our backyard. Okay, it wasnât 100 feet tall but it seemed that way to little me.
My sister and I climbed that tree often (unsupervised, of course) and I vividly remember her falling from what seemed to be quite a height and scraping herself with branches all of the way down. She was okay!
The happier memory is that we used the fragrant petals of this gorgeous tree as our own canvas and stationery. We wrote messages and drew tiny pictures with little sticks on the velvety petals and waited for the brown markings to appear. The possibilities were endless.
But, letâs get back to 2024 and the question.
When Sharon Landry, the First Lady of Louisiana, called and asked if I would paint our state flower as gifts for an event benefiting the preservation of our governorâs mansion ⌠Of course, I said âyes.â
We worked together to select a final magnolia floral design for the âMansion in Bloomâ event art.
I completed all of the paintings, added a sprinkle of gold leaf and attached the acrylic boxes.
âMagnolia in Bloomâ Art
The event was held at the governorâs mansion on a beautiful evening in May and overlooked the Mississippi River.
And as a Louisiana girl⌠born in New Orleans and a graduate of LSU, I was so honored to be a part of such a special evening thatâs purpose was to maintain our beautiful heritage and traditions.
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Learn more about preservation of the Louisiana Governorâs Mansion here.
Follow the First Lady of Louisiana on Instagram here.