My painting of a purple Iris

One of my favourite flowers to paint will always be Irises. they come in a wide range of colours. They have a beautiful open structure, which allows me to do something creative with all the negative spaces behind.


So, why else do I like painting them? Irises have a fantastic mottled surface on  some of the petals.This just adapts itself naturally to my style of painting, in small blobs of paint. They sometimes have 2 or 3 colours within one flowerhead. This is more dramatic than just one colour, and has more of a "wow factor" when you have painted it. They are quite luminous and semi transparent when backlit.  There are masses of different types of Iris, so each painting will be slightly different. 

This purple Iris painting was inspired by some I had growing in my back garden. I took this photo one sunny day in the summer. The light behind it really sets off the shapes and structure.


This is the finished result...

As you can see, I cropped the image down quite a bit. Most cards are printed 5 inches by 7 inches, so you need to paint in a ratio that works with this. 


I have kept fairly true to the original plant, in terms of shape. However, I have really exaggerated all the colours. The contrast is high, to draw attention to the light coming from the top and behind.


The style is my favourite"dotty, blobby" style. This is my take on impressionism, maybe? I have kept the background dark, but added some purple swirls to tie it all together.


Here are some close ups from the painting...

I sometimes think that the close ups make a good abstract painting in their own right!  The middle one, especially, has a lot of potential.


Here are my greetings cards from this design...

Please leave a comment, and let me know what you think of my painting. I would value some feedback, and would love to know who is reading my blog!