Many cultures celebrate the first day of spring on the 1st of March when they mark the event with a bouquet of spring flowers, with a white and red thread as a symbol of spring in some East European countries or with a daffodil worn by Welsh people on St. David’s day.
We also wanted to mark the beginning of spring and we had a hard job choosing just one painting for our “artwork of the week”. ‘Spring Daffodils’ by Ira Whittaker captures the essence of spring as the bright yellow of the flowers stand out beautifully against a dark grey background. We talked to Ira about the inspiration for this artwork and we are very excited to share it with you:
Where did the inspiration come from for this piece and what is the creative process when creating your floral art?
One day, while shopping in the store, I saw green stems of flowers. Those were not yet blossoming daffodils. I bought them, brought them home and put them in a jar of water. They brightened up my room and made it cosy, like the first rays of the sun after a long winter. Day by day, the daffodils opened up and became more and more beautiful. Those sunny flowers reminded me of the coming summer and inspired me to paint. The easel, paints, brushes and canvas were in my hands. The creative process began. This is the most exciting feeling.
How long would this work have taken you?
I can paint my pictures for hours, forgetting about time and food. I often deviate from the original and bring my own colours to the painting. In this picture, I adjusted the colour of the petals a bit, and I also made an intricately smoky background. You can see this in the photo.
I painted the picture for a week in several sessions, until the flowers had their strength and beauty. Gradually, the daffodils wilted, but their shining and wonderful mood remained in my painting, which I am very glad about.
