From My Garden, Part 1

During June’s 20 in 20 project, I started taking photos of the daily paintings I created with various items in the environment; sometimes surrounded by paints, with potted plants, or next to wild flowers I picked from my garden. It’s not the first time I’ve photographed art in the environment, but it’s been a while since I did, and I forgot how much I enjoyed it.

It was a lot of fun to go exploring in my garden to find just the right grass or flower to pair with the paintings. I’ve decided to keep the fun of that exploration going for the month of July. This project won’t be as structured as the 20 in 20 project. My goal will be to create 12 to 15 pieces by the end of the month, but it’s less about the final product, and more about the exploration of the plants in my garden and whatever techniques I feel inspired to pursue.

For the first day I ended up using spray paint and cuttings from a couple of plants: larkspur seed pods and morning glory leaves to be exact.

I worked spontaneously. I snipped a few of the larkspur seed pods, and then remembered the cabinet of spray paint in the basement. I grabbed three cans and brought them outside. I arranged the larkspur pods on paper and in the process, some of the seeds scattered on the surface. Since the seed pod stems weren’t flat, they didn’t leave much of a silhouette on the paper, so thinking quick, I cut a few morning glory leaves & arranged them in layers. I sprayed the dark blue paint, removed a few leaves, sprayed again, and so on.

When I finished spraying the dark blue, I shook off the seeds, revealing the little white spots which reminded me of the background of my friend Jessica Gowling’s recently completed collage; although she achieved the affect with an entirely different technique!

The larkspur pods themselves aren’t visible in the artwork, but they became quite colorful after a layer or two of paint and make the perfect arrangement to photograph with the piece.

So there you have it! I see this project as a collaboration of sorts between me and my garden, and I, for one, am looking forward to see what “we” come up with!