We’ve all heard the saying “Less is More” and the K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple, Stupid) principle of minimalism, but as I sit here with two massive, exquisite bouquets wilting in the heat of a West Australian summer—thanks to my daughter’s graduation followed closely by Valentine’s Day—I can’t help but feel that More is More…necessary.
For days, I’ve been trying to get the perfect photographs of these flowers. It hasn’t been easy. My daughter, understandably protective of her professionally arranged bouquets, pleaded with me to leave them alone until absolutely necessary. I wholeheartedly agreed. As much as I adore fresh flowers in my house, I am not a florist. So, I waited, gently trimming stems, freshening the water, and biding my time until I could finally rearrange them into smaller, more manageable posies.
Today was the day.
We’re six days in for one bunch, four for the other. The roses are already past their prime, and a few delicate blooms have found their way to the bin. Such is life in a summer heatwave.
Yesterday, I had a false start. I pulled out my real camera, only to find the battery completely flat—and the charger nowhere to be found. It’s either still in Mauritius (November holiday - post coming soon) or was accidentally rehomed during the Christmas chaos, possibly never to be seen again. After wasting an entire afternoon searching for the elusive spare battery (which, of course, must be with the charger), I resorted to my iPhone.
I love photography—the capturing of fleeting moments, the dance of light and shadow—but for my still life paintings, it always comes with a challenge. Because good reference photos require great light, beautiful backgrounds and floristry skills….
Or do they?
Natural light is always best, but as we all know, it can be fickle—cloudy one moment, sunny the next, with shifting shadows throughout the day. The key is knowing the best time for natural lighting in your space and having a backup plan.
I use a portable light system that plugs into my laptop, with a neutral light setting that I rely on for cloudy days. A reflector helps bounce light where needed even on the sunny days. I purchased both of these online, forgive me…I used Temu. I know, bad me, but I dont need expensive professional gear for photographing flowers that I then adapt into paint.
‘Plus One At The Spring Soirèe’ Oil on canvas behind a new living bunch of flowers ideas. You can see I’m quite the fan of maximalism!
When photographing still life for studio painting, I find that consistency is key—using the same background (I photograph mostly in our bedroom), a similar eye level, light angle and camera settings—so that I can mix and match flowers from multiple shoots that will, importantly, share similar shadowing and perspective. It needs to be remembered that the reference photo is just that: a reference. I rarely paint exactly what I see. Look at our horrible wall paper? Why would I paint that? Pick and choose your backgrounds, build on the forms and tones, adding and subtracting as the ideas take hold.
Now, with a chaotic mess of petals and leaves around me, I finally have a collection of images to work from.
Time to turn more into something lasting.
You can view my oil paintings (and prints) on my website mialaing.au
If you're in Perth, you can see my latest narrative still-life paintings in person at the 40th Annual Fine Art at Perth Collegein Mt Lawley from April 4th to 6th. I have five paintings on display (including Plus One At The Spring Soirèe) and available for sale—hope to see you there!
You can follow my blog via Substack
Mia x
