Room to Grow: wild flower paintings
I've really enjoyed working on these new wild flower paintings so I'm delighted to share them with you. Over a few weeks, I found myself rushing into the studio to continue working on this project. I love this feeling of excitement: being inspired and enthusiastic. It propels you forward with speed and focus. It's not all easy though! Every project has it's difficult patches and any series will have its failures.
I found a great quote from Rick Rubin that rang true for me:
"Failure is the information we need to get to where we're going".
In this series of six paintings, one fell by the wayside. The others had their ups and downs but all made it to completion!
I try not to be downcast by failed pieces as what I learn from that experience shapes my knowledge going forward - I won't be making that mistake again! By seeing what I don't like, visually, it reveals what I do like and where I'm headed.
SInce I took up painting about 3 years ago (having been a printmaker all my working life), I have tried a lot of new processes. I use a guiding principal that if it looks cool and feels good to execute then it belongs in my unique toolkit of methods, materials and marks. Over time, this builds my visual language which in turn leads to a unique style. It also adds a lot to the fun of making!
Making the textured backgrounds in these flower pieces reminded me of inking up collagraphs and etchings, something that I found really satisfying to do. There's an element of mystery and wonder as the texture is revealed.
I love the way this surface contrasts with the crisp edges and flatter colours of the collaged shapes. I use collage both for background patterns and foreground motifs (plant and flower shapes). Water-soluble crayons add another level of information, giving a sense of depth and light.
I'm really pleased with these pieces but I'm starting to wonder if having texture all over makes it too much like a wall - maybe an interesting wall but one that is essentially flat. My plan for the next few pieces is to be more selective about where I put the texture and allow more light and distance with a view to suggesting a distant landscape.
I've spent the cold winter evenings drawing flowers from the photographs I took in the summer. This has been really useful for giving my flower shapes a more realistic outline. The daisy shapes really lend themselves to this and I was able to use many of my drawings as the basis for the collage. I enjoyed adding a splash of colour to a very neutral palette. I'm using just Paynes Grey, Yellow Ochre, Alizarin Crimson and Titanium White.
The collage pieces were made with mostly the same colour palette so that everything relates. This restriction of colour has been really helpful in reducing my choices and giving more unity to the series. It was a welcome change from the bright spring-like colours I've used previously. Like cleansing the palette after rich food!
Every morning I go to the studio, I walk down the same lane to get some fresh air, exercise and light. The seasonal changes in the hedgerows have been fascinating especially the speed with which cow parsley and hog weed (two umbellifers) unfurl from fat pink buds. In gaps in the hedge, I can look out across the Tyne Valley and see it in every season, weather and light. It's not a remarkable landscape but it is typical of the rolling hills, trees and hedges of this part of the UK.
In the three pieces with the umbellifer silhouettes, I was thinking of the layers of plants overlapping one another and how they change in different lights and seasons. I've obviously simplified the shapes quite a lot to get to the essence of the motif as well as making cutting them out with a sharp knife a reasonable undertaking!
The white daisies I found in the car park at The Hearth. The red daisies are a bit of artistic licence but could perhaps be construed as ornamental margurites similar to the ones I grew in pots last summer.
Once more, I experienced that strange twist to the journey where the piece I liked least at the half-way stage was "A Touch of Red" - it went on to be what I think is the most distinctive. Similarly the background for "Fresh as a Daisy" seemed very dull and for that reason I put off working on it. Adding the white daisies with gold centres was a revelation - suddenly the piece took on life and vitality!
These original mixed-media paintings are available to purchase now. I'll be putting them in my website shop soon. In the meantime, if you'd like to reserve a piece, just get in touch by phone on +447717256167 or email info@rebecca-vincent.co.uk
You can see the rest of my available original paintings here
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Gosh Rebecca, these are GORGEOUS!!!! I love the ethereal, delicate ones, but the red daisies and white daisies are standouts. Thanks for sharing. X