Clématite Viola
2019
80cm x 80cm / 32in x 32in
Oil on Canvas
This part of the wall garden was just outside my studio, so I was able to paint in situ. The first day of painting, I laid in the negative space of the piece in the studio with the remnants of the previous day’s palette. The second day, I set up my easel outside in front of the subject and painted until the rain started to ‘pearl’ the paint on my palette, making it impossible to work. I finished the piece a week later in studio, using a cutting of the purple Viola flower as a study. The tight rendering of the deep violet clematis provides a velvety sensuality to the piece, one can almost touch them, while the white roses are only suggested by points of light in white and blue. The composition is rhythmed by the trellis structure and the elaborate intertwined branching of the clematis.
