(c) Tessa Spanton
A few years ago Elizabeth, a good friend and artist gave me a piece of iris rhizome from her garden.
It flowered the first year and has continued to spread and flourish. one year it even flowered twice so is what iris growers call remontant. It has to be staked as it's to heavy for its own good and keels over, otherwise it has thrived on near neglect.
There were so many blooms this year so I picked some and brought them into the house. The fragrance is fantastic!
I am not painting flowers much now but I had some in my studio and they were crying out to be painted.
I have just finished the Art2Life Creative Visionary programme. This painting came at the time we were exploring texture and collage. The first layers of paint were put on with a brush, crumpled up kitchen roll and an old credit card. The flowers were painted on top.
I have a collection of Japanese washi paper, gifts from my Japanese friends. I cut and tore pieces and played around with positioning them. I kept changing my mind. I stayed undecided and it sat unfinished for a couple of weeks until last night when I went for it and stuck them on.
To finish I added Shminke gold over the collage and some of the flowers while watching The Kitchen Table Art Project 2020 (KTAP) live last night at 8pm UK time. #kitchentableartproject as the subject was flowers and gardens.
I will frame it in either a grey or a white frame, both waiting in the wings for me to choose.
KTAP was started by Nicholas Wilton during lockdown on Facebook, Instagram and Youtube It was weekly and continues though now not weekly. For more info click here
All KTAP episodes have been recorded and can be found on Youtube and PDFs are available with content information. I particularly enjoyed last night's episode. I liked the work of both artists featured and as a keen gardener enojoyed seeing and learning about Nicholas Wilton's fantastic biodynamic garden. A regular highlight is when Ferris mixes a cocktail. Last night's was a lavender gin cocktail. As I grow lavender and the first plant has just come into flower I will be giving this one a try. I poured myself a Sipsmith sloe gin. Cheers!
