The language of flowers and the thing-ness of paper

A beautiful day in January.

I love having flowers in the studio and I love choosing and buying them from the florist, the smell of the shop a cold tang of green, and the process of having them wrapped up in brown paper and carrying them home.

Did you know according to the language of flowers loved by the Victorians the meaning behind blue Irises is "I have a message for you"? Irises also stand for faith, wisdom, promise in love, hope, and valour.

Trying out some new water mixable oil paint I sketched them directly onto the paper the florist wrapped them in, it was silky smooth and beautiful to paint on.

A sheet of white paper is a perfect vehicle for a drawing, whereas this brown paper has its own ‘thingness’, I enjoy the folds and creases, and the outlines left by the sellotape on the right hand side. It now has patches over the rips in the paper on the reverse, its brief history is there in all the marks.

What started as a throwaway doodle of a painting became something totally unexpected and may be habit forming…

For other films and works in progress visit my youtube channel @annabinghamartist

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