A Flower in a Vase Next to the Window

Over the past few centuries, still life has come a long way from a mere decoration to a self-sufficient genre. And even though nowadays it’s the same old flowers in a vase, they look quite different from those painted by Caravaggio and Pieter Claesz. Avant-garde experiments have affected even this very traditional genre as we can see in this modern picture. So let’s set aside the golden standards of classic painting and try to find real-life beauty in images that intentionally depart from realism.

Contemporary take on flower painting

What makes a good still life with flowers today? The answer to this question depends on the impression you’re striving to achieve. Perhaps you want to stun the audience with your unusual treatment of a usual composition? Then you should definitely focus on

• - a bright,
• - eye-catching palette,
• - imaginative geometry
• - and unique style.

 If you want to use floral imagery to convey a certain emotion or idea, you should think which colors and shapes will work best for your purpose so that the viewers could interpret the message you left for them. But sometimes a modern still life is nothing but a nice, colorful painting that might one day refresh your living space…  Just like this one.

Charming simplicity

At first glance, this painting looks more like a child’s drawing than a serious piece of art. What we see is a deliberately simplified outline of a flower applied with thick lines of paint. It has only three petals that aren’t even painted over and a bare stalk with what seems to be one single leaf. This strange plant stands (or grows?) in a plain red vase (which is, by the way, painted much more sophisticatedly than the flower itself). And that’s it. The author didn’t include any background. The lower part of the canvas is painted in dark shades representing the surface of a table or window-sill while the secondary plane is sheer yellow with traces of other colors put there as if unintentionally. Despite its simplicity and incompleteness, this image has a sense of depth and even some sort of a three-dimensional effect due to its distinct texture. Its soft, unobtrusive palette and minimalistic composition will make a lovely addition to most interiors and give your place a stylish, contemporary touch!