Ikebana

Ikebana – the beautifully simple and elegant Japanese art of flower arranging.

I don’t know if this would qualify as an elegant flower arrangement, but it is an interesting arrangement of lines and shapes, disguised as an ikebana painted on canvas. Colors, too. And a reflection on a semi-shiny surface. I wanted to explore open space in a painting and how to fill it fairly simply. Maybe an austere environment?

As with the gladioli the other day, I used fluid acrylics on a cotton canvas mounted on board. Many of the same techniques were used, too – vertical and horizontal brushwork using a 1/2 flat brush. When I had reached a point of needing to “finish” the painting, it just didn’t work. I wanted to add some swirls of lines, vetoed it, and decided that some softer shapes with a bit of curve might work. The flowers and leaves were dotted and dabbed in to take away the vertical and horizontal lines of the original ones. I think this worked. But, as this is so different than what I seem to do – a new area of exploration – I am not really sure about it at all!!

Fluid acrylics on cotton canvas on board, 11×14.