Ready to hang original watercolor paintings with richly textured, hand-collaged art papers, torn and collaged as borders
These watercolor flower paintings are naturalistic, distinctive portraits of flowers. They are framed by abstract decorative borders of torn paper collage. The colors of the frame suggest an abstraction of the flower portraits, a blurred vision as in a dream or a reverie.
Each flower painting explores one species. A portrait is created by capturing the unique details of this flower and by placing the flower in a composition with a particular setting, lighting, or abstract design that allows the flower(s) to shine. The intention is to bring individual, specific flowers to life.
The paper collage is a free, abstracted pattern that is not related to the rectangular shape of the inner or outer frame, thus suggesting that the viewer is seeing only part of a larger, continuous whole. As in Islamic geometric art, the pattern suggests infinity.
The color vibrations of the abstract torn paper collage hearken back to the roots of modern abstraction: the spiritual essence of nature. The realistic, representational flowers focus on the visible, concrete world we inhabit. Yet the dichotomy of style and intention weave together to build a unified image through shared colors, textures and shapes that speak to the experience of an immanent holiness.
About the Techniques: The border is collaged once the painting is finished and mounted on a board. A palette of 10-15 fine art papers honors the colors and the spirit of the painting. These papers are torn in random sizes and shapes that yet follow the sizes and shapes within the flower painting. The watercolor techniques include wet in wet, dry brush, graded and flat washes, glazes, multiple types of lifts, and layers of color. The watercolor painting is protected with several layers of wax varnish instead of glass. The entire piece is sprayed 3 times with UV spray. Ready to hang with simple stained wood sides, but more elaborate framing is available on request by a wood craftsman.