This series of prints was inspired by a trip to Amsterdam, Berlin, and Prague that Clarence and I took just before we found out I was pregnant with Char. What an unexpected, much-welcomed surprise that our time in Amsterdam coincided with the Matisse exhibit at Stedelijk Museum. In some ways, it feels like a lifetime has passed since then, but I remember so clearly the magic of wandering through the halls alone, quietly experiencing the curation (this was the part in our trip where we got to do things for ourselves - his was to play basketball with the locals ha!). Yes, we got the large galleries of his prolific cut-outs, but what stood out to me was one wide wall that had some of his simple hand lettering sitting alongside pops of color - there was something so calming about the way they served as anchors and complements to their neighboring pieces. It spoke so strongly to my affinity for the understated that I went home and bought an old pamphlet of Matisse’s line drawings on eBay.
behind the scenes from the series
Our Floral Line Drawings series is meant to do just this - anchor and complement in its simplicity. In painting these, I wanted the shapes of the flowers to do the talking, the way that different variations of a curve so completely change the feeling that the art evokes. For flower lovers everywhere, I hope that these are the ones you reach for when you’re unsure, that they can be the pieces you stick front and center when color seems to be too dominant, or that they’ll find their way as support pieces, when you have something else bold and beautiful to display. Have you picked one up? Show us how they’re being framed in your homes, we’d love to see.
to simplicity,
pat
