Flowers flowers and more flowers in chinoiserie vases… Acrylic on canvas, 20 cm X 20 cm Raspberry, plum, pink, crimson and white swirls of paint
Author: artbyeileen
I am a South African born artist, who has lived in 5 different countries in the last 20 years. I returned to South Africa in 2016 and I am now living in St Lucia, a small tropical village on the shores of the Indian Ocean. My rather unusual life experiences and travels have influenced my style and choice of subject matter. The rich desert colours, the vibrancy of the tropical flowers, all my paintings communicate my connection to the land and nature. Flowers are my main subject and I am inspired by layerings of colour, be it bright and ebullient, or understated and muted. Colour can evoke so many different responses in someone and my paintings speak to their viewer through their movement, colour and texture. Painting is my way of sharing the pleasure I derive from the beauty that surrounds me in nature and especially the flowers I so loves to paint. An ability to communicate all of this through granular sculptural textures, three dimensional application of paint and striking use of colour makes my art work bold and engaging.
A palette of muted shades…
Silicone wedges, splatter brushes, palette knives and impasto paint were part of the recipe for this canvas…
An explosion of roses
The strong blue in the jug was screaming to be balanced with some strong colours, and the result is an explosion of colour and roses…
Bowl of white roses
Painting white subject matter, in this case white roses, can be challenging. Which colours are the best to mix white and how to depict a flower with white petals? How to paint the colour white in acrylic medium? You can use cool colours to describe the shadows; or warm colours. Usually a nice purple mix…
Ginger Jar cut-outs
It is no secret that I am passionate about all things ginger jar! Their utilitarian purpose has long since been replaced by a decorative one. The history of the ginger jar and its simple origins for such an exotic looking storage jar for storing and transporting spices in Ancient China is an exciting one. We buy…
A collage of proteas
Before I began painting I added a cadmium red coloured ground to the whole canvas. I wanted the red to come through the grey background as well as show through the scratchings from the palette knife around the protea centres and their outside petals and leaves. The red is also great for warm layers later…
Magnolias and chinoiserie
Magnolias, ginger jars, ikebana, cherry blossoms they all just go together, and I have taken to painting branches of magnolia blooms and I have taken to combining all of these elements in my subject matter. I find jugs and jars I love the shape of and turn them into a Chinese vessel with a little…
Nasturtiums
These lovely plants, with their unique greenery and vibrant intensely bright yellow, orange, and red flowers, and their lush, round leaves are also edible and incredibly delicious. When it came to eating these plants, nasturtiums weren’t consumed until it was taken to the East, where they were eaten and used for tea. Nasturtium carries a…
Pink Magnolias
Magnolias have the most delicious sweet fruity smell that can fill a block a mile long. Most magnolias flower on bare stems in late winter/spring, producing beautiful creamy-white flowers for many months. The gorgeous white saucer shaded blooms have a light to deep pink or purplish-pink colour to their petals. Close-ups
Bachelors button
Did you know that another name for the cornflower is the bachelors button. The name, Bachelor’s Button, may have arisen during Victorian times when the flowers were often placed in the button holes of men’s suit coats. In his 1851 book, The Flower Garden, Joseph Breck dismisses them as a common weed known as Blue…
A summer garden on canvas
A dear friends daughter comes to my art studio for painting lessons. We paint together twice a week in the afternoons after school. To be honest, I am not sure who gets the most out of those lessons, but let us suffice to say, we both have a lot of fun together. This last Saturday…
