A very floral adventure

 I have always been totally fascinated by Claude Monet as an artist not just his magnificent waterlilies but his commitment to his craft . He actually himself planted his garden and carved out his pond all before they were ever painted and immortalised on canvas.  He's such an inspiration !!!!!! I guess thats how my journey into the floral world begun . I recall in my childhood my grandparent love of flowers they were always out in the garden growing them . My grandfather would pick flowers for my grandmother daily and she would arrange them in a lovely vase . My earliest memories of flowers were always snap dragons and roses and english style gardens .

 Moving to my country studio has had a big effect of me with inspiration . I am surrounded by green which has certainly entered into my colour pallet . I have been painting still life paintings for decades but all i could ever do was plonk flowers in a vase so i set out to change that recently . The delightfully talented Rose and Heart florists at Redhill do amazing classes for budding florists . So with their help i am learning lots about flowers and their shape and form . Also prepping the flowers for the arrangements , its much harder than it looks and quiet challenging .

I love learning new skills that can help with my practice but also understanding it . Below is some of the prepping and yes it takes a while when your a beginner . I am always attracted to brightly coloured flowers of course but learning the importance of greenery is fantastic . Green is a big trend at the moment in both art and the home not to mention the floral world .

Creating a still life from scratch is such a joy and having that kinda control and conviction powers me on to new frontiers . I always start with a quick sketch of course . Loving some watercolour effects to at the moment with acrylic inks . Love the inks brightness .

One tip is to make sure you take a photo of your floral arrangement before you paint it . You may have all the best intensions to paint it right now but life can get in the way and flowers have a small life span. Change the water everyday helps extend the flowers lives so you can get a sketch or a painting done in time .

Here is a quick watercolour sketch from life of my posy in a round vase with liquidtex inks . I adore the cute small arrangements and the challenge of getting them just right .

I have a very quirky vase collection that i have been amassing for decades now . Some are vintage from my grandmother and others that are coloured 60'S collectable glass . My faves are my latest edition from waterford as i adore chunky crystal . Flowers bloom for such a short time so they need to be painted then they can live forever . I am building a new body of work thats inspired by my floral journey and look forward to seeing where it takes me in the future . x