My obsession with flowers continues into autumn (I see botanical art everywhere), and I keep collecting them via my camera as summer's offerings gradually fade.
I arrange them by colour (I often don't know their names - my knowledge of flora and fauna has lots of gaps) and they go into a folder for inspiration - I think I want to do some watercolours. I haven't worked on any of my own projects for a while now, and flowers will hopefully ease me back into that. There is something calming about doing plant portraits and following nature's design, and unlike the illustrations I am working on, they require no research and preparation once I have the photograph or the real thing in front of me.
Pretty! I read a book this summer called “The Language of Flowers.” It’s a simple read. Nice for summer. What was most interesting about it was a flower dictionary at the back of the book. If you follow the link and then click “Flower Dictionary” you can see it as well. This book opened my eyes to the world of floriography, something I find wildly romantic.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.randomhouse.com/rhpg/features/vanessa_diffenbaugh/
Thanks for the tip, Holly - I've heard about that book and was close to buying it a few months ago. The link to the dictionary isn't working at the moment (something to do with the server), so I might get the book. Thanks! x
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