CATHERINE AND HER TULIPS
In Catherine and Her Tulips, Troy Hul Arnold draws a poignant parallel between his mother, Catherine, and her enduring affection for tulips—a flower that, for the artist, has become a lasting symbol of beauty, resilience, and maternal care. The painting is grounded in personal memory, evoking scenes from Arnold’s early childhood in Trinidad, where his mother cultivated a vibrant backyard garden with tulips at its heart.

This floral motif extends beyond the Caribbean, resurfacing in recollections of family visits to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden during his youth. There, surrounded by blooms and accompanied by his siblings, Arnold developed a deeper reverence for the natural world—experiences that would shape both his sensibility and artistic practice. In this work, tulips become more than ornamental: they serve as vessels of memory, cultural continuity, and expressions of joie de vivre—the joy of living—that his mother so gracefully embodied.