Hellebore by Gayle Kirton

Photo © Gayle Kirton

"Hellebore" by Gayle Kirton. Acrylic on paper.

From the Artist: I love the hellebore flower and have a selection in my garden; my particular favorites are the white ones. I have painted them previously in watercolor, this one is painted in acrylic on an acrylic paper pad. These flowers have a characteristic of looking down, and so I have tried to achieve this attitude.

I sellotaped the flower stem to the side of a tumbler and lit it by an anglepoised lamp from the left. The photo doesn't show the light by which I painted because I took the photo with flash bounced off the ceiling.

From the Painting Guide: I think this is a beautiful portrait of a flower. The dark leaves and mid-tone background really make the white petals flow. The only thing I wonder about is whether the stem ought to continue off the bottom edge or not.

Things to Consider When Looking at This Painting:
Composition: Notice how the flower is positioned not quite in the center of the canvas, but a little way up from center, thereby avoiding any danger of being a Fried Egg Composition. Notice how the positions of the leaves lead your eye in from the edges towards the focus of the painting, as well as "filling up" what is quite a large background.

Background: I like the background because it's visually intriguing both in color and brushmarks; it's not one flat color that you take in at a glance. And the blue being used in the darker tones and shadows of the flower itself create a subtle unity to the composition.