Celebrating plants

This painting has hung behind my office chair in my office cum studio for the past 2 months. Every time I have spoken to someone on Zoom, I have noticed that one of the petals disrupts the sense of symmetry. I have been itching to try to fix it. However, I had entered it into a competition so had to first wait for the results.

Now that I know that the painting has not been long-listed for the Chaiya Art Awards, I am free to rework the piece, but I am hesitating. There is a danger that the painting will lose some of its freshness, and in a world where we try to airbrush everything to perfection, maybe it is time to celebrate imperfections?

I would love to hear your thoughts...

Here is what I wrote about the painting I called "Celebrating plants" (The theme of the competition was "Awe and wonder"):

I stand in awe of the plant world’s beauty, variety, and resourcefulness. I wanted to create an image that evokes wonder and curiosity, encouraging others to pay attention to the plants they encounter.

I love the ever-changing kaleidoscope of colours through the seasons; the spiral patterns and other evidence of design; the unique marks on flower petals and leaves, each a miniature piece of art; the way delicate-looking buds survive their journey through the ground.

There is always more to learn. Recently I discovered that so called common weeds can add a unique flavour to a meal and have medicinal properties.

I painted a flower in all the colours I have noticed in nature at different times of the year, upcycling leftover materials from other projects and items that would otherwise end up in landfill – after all, no resources are wasted in the plant world...

I have used air-purifying eco household paint as the background colour and at the centre of the flower, representing the overlooked life-giving properties of many plants.

The flower is an amalgam of different flowers, but I would not be surprised if a similar flower existed in nature, as we are still making new discoveries.