If you’ve ever done any paintings of flowers, you’ll know that one of the greatest struggles of the process is actually picking the flower you want to paint. Indeed, with such a plethora of choices it’s hard to pick one flower and go with it.
Will you go with a peony? Or maybe a hibiscus? What about a classic rose?
In Victorian times people were a lot more uptight about etiquette. Courtesy was law in that time and people were easily scandalized. During this time there was a sort of flower code that could make your message known without having to speak any words at all. You could answer a simple yes or no question in this manner by handing over the flowers with your right hand to indicate “yes” or your left to indicate “no.”
In this manner your flowers in your flower painting can mean so much more than just how they’re presented. Yes, they may be beautiful but it’s not all air with no substance. There is meaning behind the flowers in your flower painting and here’s how you can explore them. Many famous flower paintings have deeper meanings to them.
Many flowers have different meanings and symbolisms and keeping that in mind it makes the choice even harder with all these extra factors in play. To make your choice of floral artwork easier, we’ve written this blog outlining different flowers you can choose from to paint. Soon you’ll have a floral painting on canvas in no time! You’ll be ready for the next floral art competition with a masterpiece in the wings.
Flowers for a Flower Art Painting that is Sad
The mood you’re trying to set is one of grief or despair. It’s hard to think a flower could convey that tone properly but you’d be surprised. There are a good number of flowers that you can use for your flower painting if you’re trying to show sadness.
One such plant is the willow. Long and elegant in stature, this plant has been known to be evocative of someone with their hair down crying. The sad nature of this plant can’t be denied and is unquestionably mixed in with the elegant stance. A dark crimson rose can mean mourning. While the red rose is known universally as a symbol of love the other colors of a rose often have other, more complex meanings. You might wear a dark crimson rose to a funeral. Put dark crimson roses in your paintings of flowers if you want to convey a grieving tone. Another flower that also conveys sadness is the purple hyacinth. This flower represents sorrow.
If you get a chance, observe these flowers out in nature. It will give you a better chance to catch their organic shapes. Take note of the leaves and pollen and make sure you get all the details in.
Another tip for flower painting is to take pictures of your subjects. Documenting your subjects can come very much in handy when your subjects wilt. To preserve the still life and keep that pristine image just take a picture and reference that when you’re painting. It’s easier to reference a two-dimensional photo over a three-dimensional still life anyways.
Flowers for a Cheerful Flower Art Painting
It’s an easier association to make between flowers and happiness. Flowers just inherently give off a lively and cheerful energy and it’s best to utilize that in a floral artwork. It’s not just a question of drawing any old flower with some cheery colors, you’ve got to look deeper into the meaning of the flowers. Here’s some flowers that coincide with lighter emotions.
Daisies represent innocence. The small yellow and white flowers are emblematic of every park and it’s understandable why these dainty little flowers are associated with innocence. Forget-me-nots symbolize memories of true love. These little thickets of flowers can bring a smile to anyone’s face. They come in different colors, usually blue and white. Red roses represent true love of course. This is seen throughout all media: books, plays, movies. It’s simply a given at this point: the red rose symbolizes eternal love.
When it comes to flowers a tip when it comes to painting them is to avoid the color black. Many artists avoid the color black anyways due to the unnatural effect it can have on a canvas: black as a color doesn’t exist naturally in the real world. So what can an artist such as yourself do? Use brown or blue of course. With the earthy tones that are usually found in plants it might be good to use brown as a substitute for black as the darkest tone on the canvas.
In Closing
There used to be a time where you could hand someone a bouquet of flowers and it would express a complicated and nuanced sentiment. Those days are gone, but you can still evoke emotion through flowers in your flower art paintings. If you’re feeling particularly creative you could also paint an abstract flower painting where you can’t even make out exactly which flower it is, it’s more of a concept of a flower. With a daisy for innocence or a rose for love you can be as subtle or in your face about it as you want, it’s your art. Even if the message in your floral artwork doesn’t seem clear it exists, and for those who know it, it enriches the viewing of your floral painting and makes it so much more meaningful that it could have been before. Next time when you participate in TERAVARNA’s floral art competition be sure to have this blog in mind.