Mariana (Commelina erecta): the blue that asks for presence

I left home that day with a simple intention: to observe. There was a quiet sense within me that I would encounter different flowers along the way. I didn’t know which ones, or where—so I simply ran with an attentive gaze.

It was during the run that it appeared—a small blue point, almost silent, between the green and the ground… I stopped immediately.

Mariana (Commelina erecta) is one of those flowers that require presence. Low-growing, discreet, arranged in small sequences along the stem, it does not impose itself—it reveals itself.

What caught my attention most was its delicacy: its petals hold a gentle sheen and a subtle transparency in their lower parts, creating a sense of luminous fragility, as if light were passing through the flower itself. And, making it even more captivating, small yellow structures (its stamens) emerge from the center, contrasting with the deep blue, with nuances that shift toward blue-violet under the light.

Field Record: Eveli Rayane

There, in the municipality of Jaguarari–BA, in the district of Pilar, I recorded not only the image, but the place. I kept references of the path, return points—because some flowers are not only seen, they are encountered again.

It is important to note that this encounter also reveals something about the gaze: I only found it because I was searching, and even in movement, there was contemplation.

Mariana is not a flower that announces its presence. It requires sensitivity—and perhaps that is exactly what interests me most in this process: to contemplate what almost goes unnoticed.

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Botanical characteristics (initial observation)

• Habit: herbaceous, low-growing plant;

• Growth: arranged in sequence along the stem;

• Color: deep blue, with subtle variations toward blue-violet;

• Structure: contrast between more opaque petals and slightly translucent areas;

• Reproductive structures: distinct yellow stamens at the center;

• Occurrence: common in open environments and along path edges;

• Scale: small — requires close observation.

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Artistic process (in development)

This record does not end in photography. From this encounter, I begin a three-stage study:

• Graphite sketch — structural understanding;

• Study of form and proportion — refinement of the drawing;

• Botanical watercolor — investigation of color, transparency, and light.

Mariana opens, for me, a very specific field:

The study of small flowers of the Caatinga—those that, when encountered, enchant in a quiet way and become grand through the gaze.