This delightful study of Pansies on a 7 x 5 inch plaque has a remarkable depth. Steve's bird paintings are very familiar but his talents extend to many subjects. He enjoys painting flowers and they work well on china - the reflective nature of the surface and the silkiness of the glaze adds a delicacy and sparkle to the final image that would be hard to achieve in any other medium.

Our cultivated Pansies are derived from the wild pansy or Heartsease. The Pansy takes its name from the French pensée meaning "thought". It was so named because the flower resembles a human face and in late summer it nods forward as if deep in thought.

In Shakespeare's time the juice of the wild pansy was regarded as a love potion. In "A Midsummer Night's Dream", Oberon uses the love-potion on Titania while she sleeps, so that she will fall in love with the first creature she sees on waking.

"Thoughts of You" seemed the obvious choice of name for a plaque that would make a beautiful present for a partner's birthday or anniversary!