Roses are truly the queen of all flowers, with their innate qualities and attributes. They have symbolically placed themselves in our culture from the outset of civilization. With their voluptuous pose, coquettish, flirting demeanor and mysterious spirit, they have been the most luxurious offering to all our greetings, ceremonials and rituals. Roses are the protagonists in my painterly plays and they are the main derive of my subjectivism. For me painting roses is the best way to express what I might call my own peculiar, deep feelings about life. The impact of my paintings is determined by the tension between the figure’s physical presence and the spatial flatness of the setting, between realism and abstraction, between impression and expression. The figures are forcefully defined and positioned comely and three dimensionally in a setting free of other details; the aim is to achieve maximum
splendor with minimum effort. Roses in my paintings are portrayed some with backs turned, some in profile, some three quarterly and some in full face; it seems they are engaged in some ceremonial rituals, demanding the viewers’ attention. The bright light gives colors an almost transparent quality that reveals their sensuality and let the petals dance freely in the air, the background merges in a distribution of colors and the landscape transforms into abstraction of pattern, their monumentality and majesty derive from simplification of an artistic strategy. My paintings are portrayals of the ephemeral unknown, whose exuberant moment of its short life, is shared with mine. What really concerns me above all else is expression. Expression for me is not merely a question of passion that might be visible, it is the entirety of the painting of the figures with space around them, the whole contribute. The tension may still remain unresolved but the whole productive. I am sure Monet had taken up the same with his paintings of water lilies.
Silver and roses, acrylic on canvas, 20 x 24" (51 x 61 cm)
This is a painting of two roses, facing at opposite directions and a red rose looking up. I wanted to tell a love story. Feeling the tension and also love at the same time was intriguing. The dark background adds to the drama. The contrast between the reflecting and shiny container with the dark shadows behind reminds me of the amicable challenge between light and darkness. The foliage and leaves are just an indication of very free and spontaneous brushstrokes, adding some shapes and pattern to the background. I am happy with the story I have created and always love the happy endings.
White roses in a silver jug, acrylic on canvas, 20 x 24" (51 x 61 cm) I love to paint white roses. You can find huge variations of shades of white to be painted. This was a bunch of roses in full bloom, placed in a silver jug and I let them arrange themselves naturally. The reflections on the jug were interesting, presenting lovely colours and shapes. Mixing colours to achieve the luxurious pastel colours of the petals is interesting. To bring out and emphasize their soft white flower heads I added the deep green leaves and foliage. The contrasting colours let my white roses stand out. The background emerges as a mixture of colours and shapes. The silver jug was placed on a dark purple cloth to complement the golden hues and the whole painting.
Time to shine, acrylic on canvas, 24 x 30" (61 x 76 cm)
What is the meaning of life, I asked myself. Is that the time to shine? Everything came at the right time for this painting. My roses were losing their freshness and looking tired, but at the same time looking ready to perform a beautiful last act. For this painting I had an idea of spreading my subject all over the canvas and just allow parts of the background to show through. Texture was created by different brushstrokes and using thick paint at some parts. Again it was a matter of contrasting colours and light and shadows and indeed a time to shine.