Marieluise Bantel

Baden-württemberg, Germany, Verwandlung (Transformation), oil, 80 x 120"

Third Prize is one-page editorial feature in American Art Collector magazine

My Inspiration

Everything has its time, the blossoming, blooming and fading. And although these are different states, they are seamlessly interwoven by their flowing transition. The beauty of the ever-changing plants wants to capture and delight us. In the phase of withering, the plant once again shows itself in all its splendour and at the same time in its fragility. In its effects of light and shadow it rears up against nature and against the expected rigidity.

In a world of mass products, the plant acts as a metaphor for true beauty, which is to be found in the ephemeral and “imperfect.” To depict it in its uniqueness, transience and magnificence is left to art. Art succeeds in depicting the beauty of the passing.

My Design Strategy

In order to capture the transience of plants in painting, I first studied the development of flowers. I collected a variety of different flowers and dried them. In the process I observed how they changed. It is mostly a slow decay, in which a play of colours develops and forms density, transparency as well as expression change.

I wanted to paint the picture in a way that expresses simplicity, so that the painted state of transience is in focus. Therefore

I left the background without colour, apart from the drop shadow. With this concentration on the essential, the beauty of the passing can be depicted in a condensed way. This beauty is so powerful, expressive and interesting that it does not allow any further distraction.

My Working Process

With white chalk I transferred my composition of the dried flower onto canvas. The colours were mixed to the subdued tones of the withered rose and then they were applied. In this painting I worked a lot with warm and cold colours. The muting of strong colours was achieved by mixing dark colours. Through light and shadow, exciting light-dark relationships could be worked out. The colours were applied relatively densely. After the generous application of the colours I repeated the colouring several times. I painted in large movements.

Through my brushwork the desired unevenness on the surface of the rose petals was achieved. And finally I also set accents at the important places of the depicted plants.

Contact Details

Email: art@marieluise-barbara-bantel.de

Website: www.marieluise-barbara-bantel.de