He seems to follow me everywhere! His interest in dragonflies, butterflies, flowers and nature in general keep me intrigued with his blog. Until he gets to the snakes. Then I tune him out. Yuck. http://michaelqpowell.com/2020/09/04/dragonfly-and-duckweed/
Because of him I am exponentially aware of dragonflies, though I cannot identify hardly any of them. As my oldest friends are aware I love butterflies, but Mike researches his and posts details about them. I merely admire. Well, except for the monarchs and especially their caterpillars. My husband and I garden milkweed especially for those!
Recently Bob and I made a trip to the Cincinnati Art Museum, wearing our masks and social distancing in the almost deserted museum. One exhibit was called “Women Breaking Boundaries” and this painting was done by Maria van Oosterwijck in 1669 entitled Flower Still Life. I was admiring the flowers: nasturtium, peony, tulip, lily of the valley, carnation or dianthus, rose, iris, poppy unfolding and greenery and POP UP! There was Mike Powell! Almost center of the painting is a dragonfly. Closer inspection brought two butterflies into view. Perhaps a beetle, wasp or fly on the edge of the table? Makes me want to return to the museum with a magnifying glass to identify the insects 🙂 Maybe you can study the painting below and use my list as a hidden object puzzle. You might even find more details than I did!
I wanted to purchase a copy for Mike, but alas they only had one small print and a large poster. Then I remembered I do not even know his address, just contact through his blog and mine!
So here is the painting description:
Even with Bob’s best computer photo enhancement tools we have trouble seeing that confident signature!
This is my favorite (without the frame). Thanks Mike for keeping me on my toes!
https://secretimages.org/2019/11/06/flower-still-life-1669-by-maria-van-oosterwyck/ wrote on the blog Secret Images about Maria, “Her signature motif, a Red Admiral butterfly, appears in most of her significant paintings; scholars believe that van Oosterwyck included the boldly-patterned insect to send a hopeful message about resurrection.”
Well I for one love that hopeful message about the resurrection!
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead
1 Peter 1:3 NIV 2011
Treasures in Plain Sight, A Christian Blog 
This is beautifully calming!
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What an interesting post, I love what you’ve shared! I came through from Mike’s blog. Thank you!
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Reblogged this on Mike Powell and commented:
I am pretty old, but I was not born in 1669. However, a painter, Maria van Oosterwijck, was fascinated by dragonflies and butterflies, as I am, and included them in a floral painting called Flower Still Life that she completed in 1669. Molly Lin Dutina, thought of me when she saw the painting in a museum recently and wrote this delightful blog posting.
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What a fun posting, Molly. It is always interesting to find out how I affect others. A good number of people know that I love puns and bad jokes and they periodically fill my inbox with “groaners” or post them on Facebook and tag me. Others, like Molly, associated me with detailed shots of insects, because of my well-known fascination (which sounds better than addiction) with dragonflies. I really like the painting, in part because of the insects, but also because of the flowers. Regarding the confident signature, I wonder if that is a reference to the prominent Red Admiral butterfly on the right edge of the table–a signature motif rather than an actual signature.
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