Just Some Whimsy

I often photograph my art before sealing it to avoid any glare. I am told that when someone sees my work in real life, the colours appear much brighter and the texture is more pronounced. It’s hard to capture it all in a photograph. While I was sealing Wildflower Whimsy, I was reminded of how many times I had painted different flowers to get just the right ones I wanted to express with this piece. I was reminded that painting larger flowers for larger pieces is harder for me than when I am creating for smaller works, and I was reminded of how I wanted to convey the joy I was feeling in that moment.

This piece in real life is so darn cheerful, and it makes me smile every time I look at it. I can see it in many different styles of rooms, from an office space, perhaps a counseling office, or in an entryway. I could also look wonderful in a living room or even a child’s bedroom. SO many options to choose from.

Behind Torn Garden Of Colour

I started and finished this painting in 2022, at least that’s what I thought. Several months ago, I decided to rework it and make it more cohesive with my current work using my hand-painted papers and collaging the flowers. Oh my goodness was this a project! It took a lot longer than I expected but it was super cool to see how the textures formed and how more depth was created.

Before the flowers appeared, I painted a brightly coloured abstract painting. The flowers were sketched out and the remaining background was painted with a wash of black so you can see glimpses of the under painting.

So, I got busy and painted several abstract works on paper and started tearing them up and adding the torn papers to each flower. I soon realized I needed more hand-painted papers to create the flowers and started painting more.

This image shows how it’s starting to transform. The bottom half was finished and I still had to tackle the top.

Just look at the texture

I love how each flower has transformed with texture and colours with all the layers of paper.

And… it’s finished! It took much longer than I thought it would but I finally got each flower collaged with layers of torn bits of hand-painted papers creating this playful and fun floral piece. I added bits of torn paper to the edges of this painting and a few more scratches into the black and I’ve declared it finished and ready to live on the walls in someone else’s home.