Mixed media florals

In bloom

My work with florals has evolved — not only in material, but in feeling. There’s a new boldness, a freedom, that’s come through in the making.

After years of working in oil and developing a floral style rooted in realism, often with gold leaf as a luminous ground, I began to carry those learnings into a more experimental form. These mixed-media pieces are both continuation and departure — the gold leaf still holds the key, but the compositions have loosened. Each one is built from thin layers of dyed silver leaf, gold leaf, mother-of-pearl, and oil paint. They retain a suggestion of realism, but the forms are freer, more deconstructed, more abstract — lit by color and inner glow.

As with all of my metal leaf work, the surface shifts depending on how you encounter it. Light changes everything.

These florals invite movement and reward return visits — there is always more to see.