Orchid Fantasy

Fantasy Orchids is part of a series, Fantasy Florals.  Flowers often do not need to be described.  Often it is not so much what they look like, but rather the sensation they cause.  Sometimes it is the amazing colors nature has created, other times it is the way they act, dancing in the wind.  

To capture the emotion of flowers, I often rely on spontaneous painting methods, working on various supports, canvas as well as multiple types of papers.  I also use various mediums, watercolors as well as liquid acrylic and Dr. Ph. Martin's Hydrus, pigmented liquid watercolors.

The painting featured in this blog is painted using Hydrus.  The liquid consistency of  Hydrus gives me an opportunity to drop the pigment on the paper and create unusual effects.  The colors stay vibrant and once dried will not lift, so I can overlay colors without smearing them.  Spraying areas, tipping the surface and letting colors run is another way of creating interesting effects.  

Orchid fantasy was inspired by my visit to the Bronx Botanical Garden during their annual Orchid show.  Going through the maze of orchids in the conservatory left an impression of orchids everywhere in every color, shape and size.  I needed to find a way to capture that image.  Drawing what an orchid looks like was not the answer. Dropping pigment on paper or canvas gave me the start I needed.  After the burst of colors, I then negative and positive painted  to introduce some suggestion of the orchid shapes.  The difficult part of this type of painting is to know when to stop.  I always allow the viewer to participate in my paintings, giving them the pleasure of finding flowers and to finish the painting.