This past July I attended a two-day workshop at the NRAS taught by Michael Klein. �He is an extraordinary oil painter, known for his dramatic oil floral paintings.� � I took this workshop to learn from an expert how to approach painting florals. His approach is quite straightforward. �He spends two days on a single arrangement, and always paints from natural light.�He paints one bloom and�half of the painting the first day, and finishes the remaining blooms and the rest of the painting the second day. �Since the flowers may change dramatically over this time, he doesn’t go back and change the updated arrangement. � � His paints the background and tabletop using�muted colors. �This allows him to ‘pop’ the flowers in color.� � Here is a photo of Michael starting his first day�demo: � � Below is his half-finished painting. Stunning I believe. �Unfortunately, he didn’t finish it on the second day. �Instead, he started another demo for us to illustrate several unrelated points. He is an excellent instructor.� � � I wish I had such a lovely painting to show for my efforts! �Unfortunately, I painted a pitiful arrangement in a vase on the first day. �It was boring in all regards. Technically I was able to paint the rose, but I was very unhappy with the overall painting. Moving on to the second day, I thought I would try a different approach. �I took one single rose, put it in a vase, and attempted to paint only it. �This allowed me to focus and get feedback in the area of expertise of Robert (painting the blooms), instead of battling drawing or composition issues. �I wanted to get to the ‘heart of the matter’, so to speak. Above is the result of my morning effort. A single bloom of a white rose on an 8×10 canvas. � � For the afternoon, I rotated the flower and painted it from another angle. �This single, white rose was quite challenging but I am happy with the results.� � � I am considering doing a series of single blooms on an 8×8 canvas. �It will be fun to paint the whites, pinks and vibrant reds. �And won’t I feel special buying a rose from time to time?
Vase of Flowers decorated with a Triumphal Chariot seen in Profile
This canvas with clearly defined characteristics is paired with another work at the Museo del Prado (P7912) whose shared circumstances help us to appreciate Hiepes’s achievements even more -especially his capacity to reflect the infinite aesthetic possibilities offered by the subject matter associated with still lifes. That second work was signed and dated in 1643, which allows us to assign a similar date to the present work.
As the genre evolved, flower paintings rapidly made a place for themselves, as their ornamental character and intrinsic beauty took precedence over many other aspects. Among Spanish painters, it was Hiepes whose gradual specialization in this field led to the most assiduous production of unmistakable works with a personality totally unlike those of any other artist of that time.
These monumental and symmetrical compositions convey the individual spirit of each of the species of flowers depicted with all their powerful particularities. In the present work, like many others by his hand, no less than twenty-six different varieties have been identified, making this an authentic repertoire of plant species that serves both to decorate and illustrate. Hiepes’s works frequently use contrasts for dynamic purposes. Here, for example, a diversified group of flowers with varied colors and splendid lighting is set against a dark, neutral background over a straightforward base consisting of a simple plank or wooden table with a minimum of detail. And the contrasts do not end there, as the flowers themselves dialog with the ceramic vase whose decorations include bronze appliqués and a depiction of a chariot on its curved surface, deliberately evoking Classical Antiquity in a singularly refined manner (Text from Luna, J. J.: El bodegón español en el Prado. De Van der Hamen a Goya, Museo Nacional del Prado, 2008, p. 78).
- See work in timeline
Straightforward floral paintings on canvas
Menu
9/21/2012 4:38:52 PM
This past July I attended a two-day workshop at the NRAS taught by Michael Klein. �He is an extraordinary oil painter, known for his dramatic oil floral paintings.� � I took this workshop to learn from an expert how to approach painting florals. His approach is quite straightforward. �He spends two days on a single arrangement, and always paints from natural light.�He paints one bloom and�half of the painting the first day, and finishes the remaining blooms and the rest of the painting the second day. �Since the flowers may change dramatically over this time, he doesn’t go back and change the updated arrangement. � � His paints the background and tabletop using�muted colors. �This allows him to ‘pop’ the flowers in color.� � Here is a photo of Michael starting his first day�demo: � 
� Below is his half-finished painting. Stunning I believe. �Unfortunately, he didn’t finish it on the second day. �Instead, he started another demo for us to illustrate several unrelated points. He is an excellent instructor.� � 
� I wish I had such a lovely painting to show for my efforts! �Unfortunately, I painted a pitiful arrangement in a vase on the first day. �It was boring in all regards. Technically I was able to paint the rose, but I was very unhappy with the overall painting. Moving on to the second day, I thought I would try a different approach. �I took one single rose, put it in a vase, and attempted to paint only it. �This allowed me to focus and get feedback in the area of expertise of Robert (painting the blooms), instead of battling drawing or composition issues. �I wanted to get to the ‘heart of the matter’, so to speak. 
Above is the result of my morning effort. A single bloom of a white rose on an 8×10 canvas. � � For the afternoon, I rotated the flower and painted it from another angle. �This single, white rose was quite challenging but I am happy with the results.� � 
� I am considering doing a series of single blooms on an 8×8 canvas. �It will be fun to paint the whites, pinks and vibrant reds. �And won’t I feel special buying a rose from time to time?
