The Power of Flowers

As a self-taught artist, I rely on every project I paint to be able to teach me something or at least allow me to practice something I learned.  One of the most educational images for me has always been flowers.  Not only are they beautiful they are packed with a lot of valuable art lessons.

I look to mother natures flowers as a great source of inspiration and education in a variety of different ways.  One of the main things I have learned from flowers is color harmony. 

In nature colors of flowers are matched harmoniously.  Flowers are never wrong in how nature has matched them, blended them form their accents and compliments.  They allow me as an artist to render in so many different ways.  From abstract to realism with ease. 

It is as though all you have to do is look at some flowers, squint your eyes and you have a painting in the making.  You can be free to express artistic self in so many different ways.

You can take the simplest of designs and render something floral.  You can even paint monochromatic and allow only the values to be a representation of color in order to render a floral design. 

On several occasions, I have painted a series of floral designs with just splashes of color in the background while I drew lines of flowers on top.  This allowed me to come up with some interesting ideas 

Below is an example using color to represent a field of flowers.  Sure they value, shape and placement but the colors are all that really represent the flowers.

My point to all of this is that the study of flowers offers a tremendous amount of lessons.  It does not have to be specific to one style, value, shape or form.  Allow yourself to explore and with that, you will build a wealth of knowledge.  Even if your style is set to be an impressionist, a realist or abstract there is something that can be learned in each.

To be honest when you start to paint you venture through a variety of styles getting to the one you are comfortable without realizing it before calling the style yours. 

(Pop Art)

I am a self-taught artist so what do I know.  I have only painted for over 40 years things that I see, that draws me to them.  Seeing only through my own eyes and not the eyes taught to me by someone else.

(Impressionism)

I guess you can say I was taught through the art itself.  Just doing it and taking notes as I go along.  t/he journey has been wonderful and has allowed me to capture more images than I can imagine.

(Realism)

 Personally, I feel you can learn from any subject.  Flowers for me have been a major part of my art education and I will continue to see what new secrets they will reveal to me. 

"The beauty of in a flower is not captured in its aroma or its gaze but how one artist to another renders it."  J Robinson, Artist