Hi all,
Continuing with my ‘Pleats’ Series the second oil painting I completed was on a longer portrait frame. Measuring 12X24 inches the frame was the perfect shape for the flower and photograph I chose to abstract. I also decided to go ahead with this shape frame because it is quite abstract in comparison to traditional shapes of paintings.
The shapes and layers of the petals in the iris as well as the structural elements fit well when I sketched the image out on the canvas. As well as this I elongated the features in the image to mirror the unusually long frame.
The colour of the flower in question was violet, however before painting I decided to change this to a deep winsor blue. I made this decision because blue is not a natural colour of plants and flowers, which helped me abstract the image. I also choose this after learning from my previous painting Lily Painting.
I was very pleased with how this turned out especially with the depth I was able to create due to the curvature of the petals. This is where the title ‘Deep Pleats’ came from as the iris was still very folded however open just enough to see through slightly to the further layers inside. I feel the highlights were captured well as the bottom half of the painting is very light where the thick bud of the flower is, then the top half is very folded with lots of petals and creases which allowed me to work with the idea of depth in more detail whilst still distinguishing the different sections of the flower.
I am pleased with the way it came out and am looking forward to completing the final painting in this trio.
O, x
Olivia Inskip 
Leave a comment