Jennifer Harmes
PAINTINGS

“For me, painting flowers hold deep personal meaning. For centuries flowers have played a role in rituals that mark life’s milestones, alongside the giving of flowers as powerful tokens of heartfelt messages. They hold for us meaning, emotion and memories, connecting us to those we love and to friends, old and new. So the flowers I paint have similar connection to people in my life, both past and present.
 
My paintings are also a deep response to the incredible beauty that nature provides through flowers, so by observing and taking them in, our spirits are lifted, nourished and restored. Once a flower has caught my attention, I’m drawn to closely observe the details, form and colour. Each flower is unique, with its own character and voice, which I try to capture in a moment in time.

So when I paint, it is a not only a response to what I see, but also of how it makes me think and feel during the process of creating the work. I try to capture the sense of wonder and joy, with sense of vitality as well as fragility. Flowers short life cycle is a metaphor for our own life’s transience. Their beauty makes this all the more poignant. By painting at the scale that I do, I try to draw the viewer in, like a pollinating insect into the painting, to get a sense of what I see and feel and to look at things in a new way.
 
My creativity has been impacted by many artists over the years, but my flower paintings have been particularly influenced by Georgia O’Keeffe, 17th century Dutch still life painting, the Impressionists and botanical art, both historical and modern.”