Flowers have had a huge influence in my life, I’m sure its why, (besides the fact that I love all things flower) they are such a dominant theme in my artwork. My father was a horticulturist, my mother a florist, and as a result we always had flowers in our home and a beautiful garden with a very eclectic collection of flowers, fynbos, vegetables and fruit trees growing in our large garden in Newlands where I grew up. Now as an adult with a family of my own, flowers continue to be a huge part of my life – in my home, on my walls in the form of art, and in my garden.

Both my parents had a bookshelf full of horticultural and floristry books, but one in particular stood out. I must have been in junior school at the time when my Mom did ikebana classes and I always used to haul out her book on ikebana and page through it. She called it her ikebana bible (and it has, as she keeps reminding me, been bequeathed to me on her death one day)! The principals of line and simplicity are still strong in my mind, and it is this that influenced this group of 4 magnolias in a vessel.

Most of my art is commission based, but sometimes the mood grabs me and I paint what I feel like. The art either sells or it doesn’t, but after I finished the first painting I started developing an attachment to the work. There was a vague thought of, if this doesn’t sell I know exactly where I’m going to hang it. It is never a safe thought to grow too attached to your own artwork you are wanting to sell, but ironically it is always this work that sells quickly. I believe it is because there is a bit more of your soul in there than usual, because you haven’t had the chance to begin the painting with the idea of some healthy social distancing (if you will excuse the bad choice of pun) so you are able to separate from the work when the painting is finished and ready to go to its rightful owner.

There was a process involved in the development of these artworks which required quite a lot of prep before I could begin painting.

#1 of 4 ikebana inspired magnolias in a vessel
Acrylic on canvas sheet
30 x 42 cm

#2 of 4 ikebana inspired magnolias in a vessel
Acrylic on canvas sheet
30 x 42 cm

#3 of 4 ikebana inspired magnolias in a vessel
Acrylic on canvas sheet
30 x 42 cm

#4 of 4 ikebana inspired magnolias in a vessel
Acrylic on canvas sheet
30 x 42 cm

There is a process I used when creating this set of 4. I wanted the light to reflect and change so the pieces would have a dynamic element to them, and come alive when hanging on a wall as the light changes throughout the day. A textural surface and the type of paint you use helps create this illusion. Interference paints can change quite dramatically depending on the angle of the light, but for these works I only used a textured surface and no specialised paints.

I first drafted the image of what I wanted to paint onto the canvas, then I sealed the pencil with glazing medium and worked the modelling paste texturing around the drawing with a palette knife.

Once dry (about 24 hours in our climate) I added the background. When applying paint to a textured surface it performs very differently to just painting onto a flat canvas. The texturing underneath the palette knife influences how the paint adheres to the surface, and how the palette knife glides over the canvas, all contributing to different layers and textures. The thick application of paint with the palette knife also contributes to another layer of texturing on the surface of the canvas.

Now I can begin working on the vessel and the stems and branches. Im still using a palette knife for the vessel, but being a little more meticulous in smoothing the texturing out to remove the heavy impasto look. For the branches I used a combination of a palette knife and silicone shapers to create the textured branch effect.

The last layer is the flowers applied with a heavy hand and lots of paint for an impasto feel. I also love the high angle view of the vase in this painting.

I am also very particular about the order in which I apply the various layers. The background, the stems, and vase, and then flowers. The petals fall over the branch or stems and the vase so you can’t (well in my mind anyway) paint the petals and then the vase, and then the stems.  You wont get that movement in your work of the flowers and their petals cascading over the stems and vessel if you did it in reverse. I mean think about it… You dont put your underwear on over your long pants, or your socks on over your shoes, do you? Its exactly the same for me when I paint!

And so the story is now complete and sold to the lovely Sue Bond, interior decorator extraordinaire!  She tells me it will be going with her to the UK to hang there in her beautiful home in London.  As much as I hate parting with my art, I love knowing it has gone to a home that will cherish what I have created, and they in turn have found something to relate to in my art enough to want to hang it on a wall in their home.  Very special indeed.

I wasn’t quite ready to let go of this artwork and I needed new business cards anyway, so I decided to use it in the design of my business card (created by Jennie, from Kouga Print).