Stopped the truck short the other day at the sight of a gorgeous bale of pink japanese dogwood on the sidewalk in front of a vendor in the flower district.
This particular vendor is located somewhat across the tracks, but it so happens that said vendor gets the very best local product (nature works in mysterious ways) and so once a week I hurry across the avenue wincing my way through "goodmornings!" as these guys crack open Budweisers at 6:30 am and hustle flowers with the maturity of 6th graders.
Market's got all types of vendors; all sorts of personalities. The mobsters, the sheisters, the preps, the sporties...I shop these vendors differently. Sometimes I work them against each other. (I said it!) But in the end, they all get cookies at Christmas. Linzers, remember them? Come to think of it I didn't bring any to this vendor, and I feel sad about that now.
"PINK DOGWOOD!?!"
"It's sold!" he said.
"Ha! right. But I NEED IT
INEEDITINEEDITINEEDIT!"
"I can make you another one.." he said.
And that is when I saw his arms were covered in red streaks - he had spray-dyed white dogwood pink to resemble the blushing variety scarce in the market last week.
I was horrified and it must have been all over my face because running back to the truck he shouted after me with a maniacle look in his eyes -
"Time to accept it sweetheart! We're in the fantasy business!
IT'S ALL A FANTASY!!"
So there it is. Now you know that people spray paint flowers.
We live - and I participate in - to some extent - a fantasy land where people spend insane amounts of money on flowers for weddings and events; parties where there MUST be 10,000 blue hydrangea.* And when the world can't give you 10,000 stems of blue hydrangea all in one week, you buy floral grade spray paint, shake the shit out of that can, and make the white ones blue.
*I guess, I mean I don't actually know. I've never sprayed a flower. Pinecone, yes...are you judging me right now?
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The little photo shoot I did with Nikki and Russell is up at 100 Layer Cake.
The photo above is an outtake of a shoot I did for a client who is getting a floral tattoo!