This painting is based on a haiku written  by a Japanese poet named  Issa,  in the early 1800s. "A world of grief and pain. Flowers bloom, even then".   The poem written in Japanese caligraghy flowed in the same way as the orchids, which grow periodically outside my studio. These poor orchid plants  are neglected, rarely watered or fertilized, yet they occasionally sprout forth such beauty.