Silk Painting

Canna Durban silk painting
(c) the artist

I first bought a small plant of Canna Durban from the Hampton Court Palace flower show. That was several years ago and the plant has grown and spread and been shared with friends. I grow it in pots and so far it has coped with winter frosts and regrows in the Spring provided it is kept close to the house. I have done several paintings on silk of this flower. First I make several pencil drawings of the leaves and flowers at different stages and take some photos. I like the way the sun shines through the petals and the orange colour glows against the background of a beech hedge. Silk paints produce strong and vibrant colours and the silk itself lends a quality to the colour that I do not seem to be able to get on watercolour paper. Silk is ideal for painting flowers on as the silk fibres act like mini prisms that refract the light and give silk its petal like sheen.