Birthday
HydrangeasPictures made of fresh flowers last only hours: petals wilt, leaves curl, and all that remains of the work is a photograph. Perhaps that is exactly why the genre has blossomed in the age of social media. Artists combine watercolour with real petals, arrange flowers into mandalas and portraits, and whole squares are covered with carpets of begonias. Here are the best-known artists, the main techniques of flower painting and how to make a petal picture yourself.
What are pictures made of fresh flowers
The term covers several different techniques:
- Illustration with petals. The artist draws a figure in watercolour or pencil and "paints" the dress, hair or wings with real petals.
- Mandalas and patterns. Flowers, petals, seeds and leaves are laid out on a flat surface in a symmetrical design.
- Figures from plants. Animals, birds and portraits are assembled from petals and leaves without a single brushstroke.
- Flower carpets. Huge panels of fresh flowers on squares and streets. The most famous is the carpet on Brussels' Grand-Place, laid every two years in August with hundreds of thousands of begonias.
- Pressed flowers. Plants dried in a press keep their shape for years; see our article on oshibana pressed flower art.
Lim Zhi Wei: dresses made of blooms
Malaysian illustrator Lim Zhi Wei, known as Limzy, paints elegant women in watercolour and creates their full skirts and gowns from real flowers — roses, orchids, chrysanthemums and hydrangeas. Each petal becomes a fold or a ruffle, and the choice of flower sets the character of the look.
According to the artist, the idea came by chance while she was thinking of a gift for her grandmother. The series has grown considerably since then, and the illustrations themselves are short-lived: the flowers wilt, and only photographs remain.
Grace Ciao: fashion illustration in petals
Singaporean artist Grace Ciao works in fashion illustration. In her pieces almost the whole outfit is made of petals, with only the face, hands and outlines drawn in pencil. A rose becomes an evening gown, a carnation a full skirt, leaves a train.
She says she made her first such piece from the petals of a fading rose she had been given, wanting to extend the flower's life. Her work spread widely on social media and caught the attention of fashion publications.
Hong Yi: birds made of petals
Malaysian artist Hong Yi, who signs her work "Red", is known for almost never using a brush. Her materials include coffee cup rings, sunflower seeds, socks, candles, rice, vegetables and fruit. One of her series, "Flower Birds", is laid out from fresh petals and leaves.
Hong Yi explains the materials behind each piece in detail, showing that art can be made from literally anything at hand.
Other flower artists
- Bridget Beth Collins (Flora Forager) from Seattle gathers petals, leaves and berries in her garden and on walks and arranges them into animals, birds and fantastical creatures.
- Kathy Klein creates "danmalas" — ephemeral mandalas of flowers and other natural materials that exist only until they are photographed.
- Event florists build carpets and panels many metres long for city celebrations, as in Brussels and during Spain's Corpus Christi festivities.
How to make a petal picture yourself
No art skills are needed for your first piece. You will need heavy paper or card, a pencil or watercolours, tweezers, a few flowers in different shades and some greenery.
- Draw the base. A simple outline — a woman in a dress, a bird, a tree. The main thing is that the large areas can be "dressed" in petals.
- Prepare the materials. Pull the flowers apart into petals and sort them by colour. Flowers from a fading bouquet are ideal: they get a second life.
- Lay them out. Start with the large areas and finish with the details. The petals need not be glued if the piece is for a photo, or you can fix them with a glue stick.
- Photograph it. Shoot from above in soft daylight as soon as you finish — within a couple of hours the petals start to darken.
To make the work last longer, use dried flowers: our article on dried flower arrangements explains how.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a fresh flower picture last?
From a few hours to a day: the petals lose moisture quickly. That is why such works are preserved in photographs.
Which flowers work best for petal pictures?
Roses, carnations, chrysanthemums, gerberas, hydrangeas and alstroemerias: their firm petals hold their shape longer.
Can a picture be preserved for a long time?
Yes, if you use pressed dried flowers and frame the work under glass, away from direct sunlight.
How can a child get started?
With simple collages: a sun made of sunflower petals, a butterfly of rose petals, a tree of leaves.
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Author: Maria Svitlovir
Graduated from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Institute of Biology and Medicine (2001). BSc in Biology, MSc in Horticulture. Writes about plants, works at a garden centre selecting and repotting plants, and contributes to plant reference guides.
