Iris paintings. Same subject, different results!

I have painted several iris paintings in the last few months. I have mostly done small paintings, rather than the large *projects" I have worked on in the past. I am hoping to put together some of my ideas as a book about contemporary floral painting. I have been working on ideas and examples for the book . It will not just be about irises, although they will probably feature quite a lot. They are my favourite flower to paint, due to the complexity and intricacy of the shapes.

So here are a few of my smaller paintings.

This one is a very traditional painting, although I have "cropped" the composition to make it more interesting, creating negative shapes around the edges. I am never keen to have flowers"floating" in the middle of the canvas.  The background is simple, just pale blue and white overlaid dabs of paint.  The flowers themselves, are painted in my typical impressionistic style with many layers of small dots blending to give a subtle range of colours.

Here is the painting framed and ready for sale.

Here is another small painting.

This one is a strong burst of colour!!    I have tried to show how the background is a major part of the painting, and the impact it can have. Imagine the iris on a plain white background. How different would the painting be!!!  I have exaggerated the colour contrasts by making the flower back lit. 

The power of deep colours. There is nothing subtle about the one above. I have made the buds a feature, because they are attractive in their own right. I have concentrated on vertical sections, with the leaves breaking up the background and ribbons of patterning behind the plant.  I have placed darker background areas around the lighter parts of the plant to add to contrast, making them stand out.

This painting is on a small long thin canvas. Just like the previous one, I have used the vertical format as a feature of the work. I have used dabs of paint for the background and stripes of paint on the iris flowers. This difference makes the paint surface visually interesting, and a feature of the work.

Cool colours here. I have used purple and lilac in the background, as well as the predominate colour for the irises. This is a good technique to link your flower with what is behind it, and give unity, rather than contrast, for a softer effect.  Compare it with the vibrant ones above, and you will see what I mean.

I have several more paintings being worked on at the moment. My studio is full of half done paintings!! I am producing a series of paintings on the theme of trees. These will be put on my other blog "artycraftythings" as I try and keep this blog just about floral art.  there is a link to my other blog on the sidebar of this page.