I can’t say exactly when I became interested in more unusual, ‘alien’ looking flowers rather than their showy, more popular counterparts with flounces and skirts of petals in showstopping abundance. For me the sculptural shapes and simple lines found in unfashionable flowers are the standouts that captured my attention.
Perhaps it is my own aspect of plant blindness I find myself fighting against, or the fact that these less celebrated blooms needed a platform to shine that I felt compelled to paint, to highlight and showcase how incredible they are regardless of their less fashionable status.
As a professional artist I frequently find myself in a balancing act between painting what is commercially popular and the more obscure, less known flowers that I would like to paint, but I paint them anyway.
Painting is a meditative practice for me where hours slip by unnoticed as wash after wash come together to create form and drama. By clearing away all unnecessary exterior detail and concentrating only on the isolated bloom, floating effortlessly in the space, I think botanical art can create a singularity of focus that can be truly impactful.
Of course, creating paintings larger than life size helps enormously in delivering impact for the observer. More importantly is lighting. A strong shadow has the ability to give life and a three dimensional quality to any painting, something I find essential in transmitting the wonder I have for the subject and, frankly, the excitement I feel showcasing them in all their glory.
Spending time finding the most interesting angle to bring out that element that first captured my attention is also essential. This could be the curve of a petal or the way, if angled just right and with the cast of a shadow, the flower almost looks like something else, something not of this world that I want to recreate and capture.
My aim is to show these specimens in new and interesting ways; to take a simple ordinary flower and elevate it. I want the viewer to say “wow, that’s amazing!” just as I did when it first captured my eye.
If there is something I want people to come away with from my work it’s an awe and admiration for nature. I don’t need my paintings to convey any more than that. There are no underlying meanings or comments on the world or social issues. It would be enough for me to know that a person discovers modern botanical art and I hope in the process rediscovers the beauty in flora, a second universe within our own, if we take the time to really see.
The above article was published in the art publication INKQ in their March 2020 edition.
There really is nothing else available that’s quite like INKQ. Designed to be a piece of art in itself; contemporary and modern. Artists, academics and scientists from a wide range of disciplines all contribute to this beautiful publication.
You can support them by subscribing to the yearly edition here or purchase individual copies (if they aren’t all sold out!).
‘Flight of Passion’ held in the Shirley Sherwood Collection and published in :
The Shirley Sherwood Collection: Modern Masterpieces of Botanical Art
‘Flight of Passion’
Passiflora ‘Lavender Lady’
46” x 48” watercolor on paper.
