Okra sure does have pretty flowers, pretty enough to paint. The vegetable? Well that has been a journey. I first tasted it as part of a school lunch, where it rated right up there with soggy spinach. Blech! Then I tasted fried okra, not bad but not exactly healthy. Okra in a gumbo? A definite improvement. I only ever knew of green okra, but then Kevin took a picture of an okra flower in Pennsylvania, posted it, and I got curious. Okra is related to hibiscus and cotton, full of essential minerals and antioxidants and comes in several varieties, including a red one, or burgundy or purple depending on how you see it. The almost dagger-like fruit looks primitive, dangerous and very questionably edible. The plants look like they could be part of a barricade. But the flowers are gorgeous! This acrylic painting was born from all the contrasts.