Why oh why do you paint..... flowers?

 Yellow orchids for sale on Affordable British Art

Nobody has asked me that. As I once predicted in another blog I wrote when I was still painting subjects which permanently attracted lively debate and often blatant rudeness. But I can answer this one, and hopefully not provoke any strong reaction at all. Life's much easier now!

 I didn't expect to love painting flowers at all but I've found a way to approach them which really appeals to my own sensibility. I don't want to end up painting things I wouldn't have on my own wall. Infact, if the rose painting doesn't sell fairly soon it could be one I decide to keep. It'd really go well above my bed. I daren't put it there though in case I don't want to sell it at all.
When I was painting nudes, the process was as important as the finished work. Over a few years I'd developed a technique for the photo sessions. I'm not a quick painter, my work evolves over many layers and I'm impatient. Live models are great for drawing but for me I have to work from photos so if I want to get up and paint at 2 a.m. I can! The photos were sometimes taken on a very basic camera, using various lighing including but not exclusively using professional studio lights. I used colour gels and often produced very dramatic sensual images. The photos were never seen in their own right as the women I used were people I know rather than professional models, so there seemed to be a lot of secrecy around it. Now if I want to show the photos I can.

Sometomes I bring flowers in or borrow from bunches of flowers in the house and stage them in the same way. Going through the photos after the session gives me the same excitement. Of course I can't share the joy in the same way with my subject, but I still love the results, and I think it's probably a very different way of looking at a subject to imagine it as a painting. The photo above is lovely but I know it's going to take some patience if it ever becomes a painting.

Flowers are definitely giving me what I miss from nudes and lingerie, the fine detailing and sensuality are all there. An added bonus is that more people can imagine them above the mantelpiece, even if the vicar drops by for tea. All the beauty and none of the controversy. And I'm very sure I'll never be asked what I'm wearing to paint a chrysanthemum. That's the best thing of all..... :)