Orange Blossom - Spring

Framed original painting
This is a framed watercolour painting on 640gsm cold pressed paper with 24K gold leaf applied by hand. I am interested in the flora and fauna that frame our lives, particularly the plants that largely go unnoticed but still play an important part in the perception of our environment.
 
This is a ‘Choisya Ternata’ plant, or Mexican Orange Blossom, which I discovered growing in our garden at our new house in Wales. It has evergreen leaves with beautifully aromatic flowers that blossom only in Spring, heralding the change to the season with their own fanfare of flowers that will often go completely unnoticed by most. I have used gold leaf to highlight the glorious explosion of scent and sight when these flowers come to bloom, showing that there is remarkable beauty to be found in Nature where you least expect it, and which can be so easily missed unless you take the time to pause and observe the world around us.
 
The orange blossom plant also has leaves which grow according to the fibonacci sequence, showing that there is order amongst the apparent chaos. These plants are also known as ‘fractals’ and have been found to reduce stress levels by the mere act of looking at them, either in Nature or simply through a depiction of them. This work is taken as a small cross-section of the great outdoors, and is intended to immerse the viewer in the relaxing greens of Nature. There are no defined parameters to the panting, suggesting that the plant continues beyond it’s visible borders.
 
Emma is renowned for her botanical paintings, and taught Botanical Watercolour at the Henley-on-Thames School of Art. Emma has also completed commissions for the Chelsea Flower Show.
 
Painting size: 44 x 32cm
Framed size: 54 x 42cm 
 
Professionally framed in solid oak frame with black core mountboard and glass.
 
Signed by the artist