Botanical Paintings

Botanical Paintings Gallery

Most of the botanical paintings in this gallery are for sale.

This gallery is a testimony to my love affair with light, colour and the local botanical gardens.

Feel free to ring me on H: (02) 5698 5284 or M: 0450 492 504 or email me (go to contact page) for offers or questions.

Limited edition prints are available on request.

“My botanical paintings are quite intimate. I love insects, the details of leaves, little droplets of water and the peaceful solitude of a small nook in a garden. Light plays an important role in these works. All life comes from light.

My Botanical paintings reflect the way I see nature. I play with light a lot in them. I especially love back lighting. This shows up, the veins in leaves, the shadows of insects and other leaves or flowers showing through the main motif. It also shows the general shapes and tones of the less important background features. These are still essential to the composition.

The  soft-focus background suggests their is more in this scene than just the main motif. These works are a microcosm of the bountiful world within which they live.

Technique

These paintings are painted slowly. I build up thin layers of paint to add translucency and transparency. They have the ability to absorb the light with which they are illuminated. It is because the paintings are built up in thin layers of paint that they can do this.

botanical paintings of leaves, with a strong backlight

Botanical Painting.

Botanical painting is often just a bland scientific recording of the plant.  Therefore, it can be more like illustration. My botanical paintings have more depth and feeling. They also have a slightly surreal air.

In regards to fine art, botanical painting is often left out in the cold, because It is considered too scientific. I try to imbue a sense of the ‘creative’ in my botanical paintings.

© 2012 Leonard Aitken. All Rights Reserved