Why I love to draw flowers (but not have them in the house)
Spring is the most perfect time to talk about flowers, just as the colours are starting to break through the grey and worship the glimmers of sunshine we’re getting.
I did an Instagram carousel recently (this one) about how much I’m not a fan of flowers in the house, but when it comes to drawing them I’m the total opposite. In fact, my go-to doodle is either a load of squiggly lines to fill a shape or flowers.
But my reasons for drawing them aren’t just for keeping my hands and eyes occupied.
Connecting with nature
This is quite an obvious one, but one of the wonderful things about flowers is how abundant they can be around us. From other people’s front gardens, shop fronts, public planting or the clumps that have randomly appeared, flowers aren’t hidden and are a relatively easy accessible way of seeing what nature can do. Of course I love the colours, but the diversity of shapes and sizes mean there’s always a variety to enjoy. And the closer you look the more you’ll see how sculptural they can be and just how many different colours there are in the smallest of spaces - and when you multiply that just one bunch you really do get a sense of the mastery of nature.
Drawing the familiar to soothe my busy brain
There’s a lot to juggle in modern life, and for me it’s parenthood and business owning, plus other random responsibilities. The fast pace of everything, plus the multiple methods of communication, means that I sometimes find it hard to find the time to fully process what’s going on around me as things have already started moving on. There are of course lots of different ways people can manage this and manage their down time too, and one of mine is to get a sketch book and draw. If I’m working on a specific collection then I tend to play with those motifs and style and then get totally engrossed down that rabbit hole. But if I’m not then the chances are high that I’m drawing flowers as doing something repetitive, safe and pressure-free becomes somehow hypnotic and in turn soothing. I don’t need to think ahead, or at all, be critical or too refined and instead I can just ‘do’, giving the rest of me a chance to stand back and take sometime without being on permanent standby.
For me, those flower drawing tell a story or jog a memory
It may sound a little cliched, but the times I’m often taking pictures of flowers is when I’m out for the day with the family. Whether it’s a local National Trust property, Blenheim Palace, a countryside walk or my parent’s garden, when I’m drawing from photographs I’m reminded of those times and that continues when I’m making the pattern and when I look at the finished products. It’s not always easy to share these stories through the product, really they’re just a sequence of ‘you had to be there’ moments, but it’s true nonetheless for me. And it’s a good talking point when I’m at in person events too.
I like seeing my own evolution, and it encourages me to keep it going.
If you compare the flowers I draw now, especially the ones that make it onto my designs, and the ones I was drawing say 8 years ago, there’s a hell of a difference. And that’s so pleasing to see. It shows how practice and playfulness pay off, helping me refine shapes and lines as I’ve experimented and repeatedly re-drawn things. It’s also really helpful as a means of trying new things - if there’s something I know I can draw then I’ve got solid foundations for trying a new paint or colour combination or digital tool. So I can focus on the new skills and getting them to where I want them to be, rather than on the subject that I’m drawing.
As I said in the Instagram carousel, it may be forever frustrating to never have the right size vase for a bouquet of flowers or to need to take a hayfever tablet to stop the sneezing, but it doesn't take away my appreciation for flowers. In fact, if anything the flowers that I’ve drawn and which make it to the final designs are more a sign of a personal journey that I’ve been on.
