Folly Flame Lily

For those who have seen a flame lily (or gloriosa lily) I hope you would agree that the petals have a real sculptural feel about them. I love the way they 'wiggle' up into the air to form a claw-like shape. My interpretation of this bloom focuses on that 'wiggle' so much so that I would call this artwork a floral abstract.

When you stand close to the painting, it is hard to see the flower. It is only when you stand back do you see the individual petals, stamens and anthers. However, with the colour scheme, I have stayed true and kept the word 'flame' firmly in mind. The petals are a fiery combination of deep burgundy, red, cadmium orange, yellows with my favourite colour - titanium yellow - around the edges. There is also lashings of gold, deep aqua, pale blue and purple.

The stamens and anther are nothing like the real thing as I wanted to really emphasis these parts of the flower. The stamens creak out of the stem towards the edges of the artwork forming un-natural shapes. And the oversized anther's sit on the ends like weighty work boots. The colours in these elements are full of metallic's, oranges, deep and light green with thick dabs of light lilac and peach.

The strong stem is a combination of brilliant, light and yellow greens with deep turquoise and cobalt blue in the shadows. The background of the artwork has been painted titanium white so nothing interferes with the impactful colours of the bloom.

Using different painting mediums, I have been able to create wonderful blends of colours that aren't on any colour palette. Please look through the close up of the images to see the myriad of soothing colours in floral.