As soon as civilized man appreciated the aesthetic beauty around him, he also became aware of the brilliant, dramatic beauty of nature's flourishing buds. In addition to their mere visual beauty, flowers take on symbolic qualities and meanings. Daisies symbolize innocence, sweet pea's tenderness, and magnolia's fortitude, to name only a few. They can symbolize anything from vitality to death, purity to love. Flowers can also have religious ties, such as biblical lilies. Their scents and physical qualities, such as thorns and colors, have led to their association with a wide variety of meanings. Although universal, the power of flowers in today's landscape has become personal. Many people attach their own individual meanings to these blooms. The mere color or scent may remind them of a special memory, event, or person in their own lives. This versatility in meaning, combined with their vivacious beauty, leads to their
successful transformation in paint and brush and oil. In this sense, flowers have a language all their own. Each carries a verbal message, while bouquets can communicate an entire statement.
The artists included in the "Flowers in February" art show at the Sherry French Gallery in Chelsea understand this language and have composed such messages through color, detail and the expressive quality of nature's blossoms in their paintings. This year's participating representational artists include Eliza Auth, Sheila Cantrell, James Cramer, Jacqueline Gnott, Anne Johann, Curtis Kelly, Glenn Kessler, Janet Laird-Lagassee, Nancy Bea Miller, Cora Ogden, Jeanne Rovegno, and Mark Zunino.
Participating as a returning artist in the show will be the spectacular still life paintings of Curtis Kelly. Artist Kelly paints directly from life paying close attention to the color and patterns in the set-ups that she creates. It is through this method that Kelly evokes the senses in her oils on canvas and oils on paper. “I love the effect of flowers in a still life painting; they brighten up a canvas just as they brighten up a room. They bring vitality and vibrancy into play. Painting a flower is like contemplating nature; it is food for the spirit,” the artist says. The still-life flowers in Kelly’s representational paintings are as always a treat for her audience as her color combinations are as moving as they are refreshing. Kelly is both adventuresome and free-spirited, qualities that the greatest of artists possess and that strongly echo through in her paintings.
Artist Cora Ogden says on the art of painting flowers: “Despite many years of floral painting, I feel a great sense of energy and discovery with each new composition. That is one of the joys of flowers: their myriad forms, colors and emotional references. Hamlet says, ‘Art holds up a mirror to nature’. I choose to develop intimate scenes that can evoke half-remembered images in the viewers mind. We pass a table and glimpse the brilliance of flowers caressed by afternoon light, or we are called away and must set down our book. These are the images that are immediate and fleeting. I am capturing these moments and sharing them with the viewer.”
The artist continues to describe her paintings: “Flowers do have a unique language. I chose to paint these sunflowers because of the richness of their color and the sensuality I saw in the movement of the petals. Each stem contains a company of swaying dancers. The antique Kasimeer paisley shawl heightens the experience and provides even greater warmth. Just as this becomes a bit heady, you can escape across an airy field and catch the feel of fresh wind in the sails.”
On a more personal note, the artist says: “To me the water lily is a very interesting flower: serene, graceful, yet geometrically strong and sharp in its image. This mirrors the interesting dichotomy of many historical warriors. They were often poets, philosophers, painters, while be proficient at their trade. In preparing to welcome death, these warriors opened themselves to the beauty and magic of the ordinary in life. In ancient Chinese poetry great warriors frequently wrote about the passing of the plum blossoms, or the changing of leaves and grasses with the seasons, or even of finding a blossom blown into the road to a next encampment. With flowers we can look at the particular, the everyday scene, the now -- but there is the opportunity to glimpse the universe that lies before our eyes.”
Another artist participating in the art show is Mark Zunino. Artist Zunino is known for
his realistic still life paintings. Though a still life painter, Zunino has an
ability to make the most ordinary of flowers and objects timeless and come to
life on the canvas. Zunino finds harmony among the relationship between
objects and the spaces they occupy, making his paintings all the more
enjoyable for the viewer. This artist chooses his subject matter based on colors
and shapes and the interplay is the resulting composition. Zunino begins his
paintings with the objects in mind and then he lets his artistry take over and
the result is the end product. All of the objects are true to their origin,
but as artist Zunino says, "My art work always evolves from one sitting to the next. I
may start with flowers and pots and end with a painting of fruit in a room."
Whatever sentiment or symbolism they may represent, flowers are treasured objects in society today. These artists highlight the inherent beauty found in the world around us, bringing color and warmth to the chilly, dreary month of February via their still life paintings.
