Flowers, light and Shadow
The idea for this collection was literally cooked up while preparing dinner. The last of the afternoon sun, streaming into the kitchen reflected through a vase of dead flowers and cast an interesting shadow on the wall - that was enough to get my brain into ideas mode.
To capture the moment I grabbed my phone and snapped off a few reference pics. I was hooked by the refracted light coming through the clear glass of an old spice jar.
The next day I couldn’t get that image out of my mind. I kept thinking about the light coming through the glass creating a prism effect. That image kept burning away in my brain throughout the week. I really felt I could create a dramatic painting. I just had to work out how best to do it.
It doesn’t look like much, but this Camellia in a glass sparked a series that kept me preoccupied for ages. Everywhere I looked I say interesting shadows and light.
I often will stage a photo shoot to see what different effects I could create. It help me get a better idea of what can happen realistically in a painting. For example it shows what direction a shadow will fall, how dark it is, thickness, and when it graduated out. I often use my imagination but a picture will look off it it doesn’t include those realistic elements.
After hunting through the house, I found bits and pieces that I could use to stage my pictures — vases, glass jars, and flowers from the garden. To experiment with different light effects I needed a variety of light sources. By now my family is used to me doing weird things, so when I walked around the house with a box collecting all our flash lights, candles, lanterns, a car repair light, a head lamp and Christmas lights, they didn’t bat an eye.
Some of the experiments were photographed in dark corners, other’s were done in boxes lined with white sheets and still others where done using natural light streaming in through a window. I shone lights through cracks in doors, from outside windows and through paper tubes. The pic were pretty ugly from an aesthetic point of view, but they were magic when it came to casting shadows and reflections.
Pretty Reflections was the first painting. I just loved the finished effect. The dark contrasting with the light and the colour of the flower was stunning. It was the first time a painting just came. Usually I have to work at it — continually refine the work to achieve what I want. This time was different, and I must say I was pleased with myself.
Through the Glass was next followed by Window of Light and Dramatic Spotlight. Sometimes I get a bit bored when I paint a similar work more than twice, but this was definitely not the case here. I had a literally stop myself from painting these little still life dramas or I would never move on to other projects.
There are more of these types of still life in me and I know that when time permits I will allow myself to indulge in exploring how much further I can take this type of work.
If you are interested in these works they are available for sale as originals or prints. The originals were painted on flat primed duck canvas and are 29.7cm x 42.0cm (11.7 inches x 16.5 inches).