Summer’s End, a commissioned painting of dahlias that reminded the collector of picking flowers with her children to bring to her mother. (2024), Pulp painting, 48 x 32 x 2 inches. Private collection.
The photograph of the cutting garden.
I received a message from a lovely woman who wanted me to paint a dahlia garden for her newly redesigned home. She shared with me that dahlias were her favorite flower and reminded her of her mother. “When my children were young, we would pick dahlias at a local cutting garden and bring them to my mother. “The kids helped her place them in a glass vase. Some of my favorite memories are watching the three of them make huge bouquets out of dahlia blooms and place it on her dining room table.”
To get started, we met in the same cutting garden she had visited with her children. The rows of dahlias were separated by rows of zinnias. After several attempts at reconstructing the flowers as they appeared in the garden she had visited with her children, it was clear the composition did not match what she had envisioned for the painting, so I created an imaginary one based on a photograph taken by my friend and garden photographer, Kindra Clineff, with her consent.
The photograph that was the inspiration for the painting.
I combined flowers from the photographs I took of the actual cutting garden with Kindra’s photograph. Eventually, the composition for the painting materialized and I was ready to create the painting that reflected her memories of her mother.
This old-fashioned flower with its large blooms and the peachy-pink palette felt both nostalgic and emotional to her, and the perfect subject for her carefully designed home.
This short video shows the pulp painting process I used to create Summer’s End.
Here I am using a squeeze bottle to layer the pulp onto the surface and build up the flower petals. I am using abaca pulp that hs been beaten in my Hollander Beater for up to 20 hours and then pigmented with non-fading pigments. The pulp has a natural texture that mimics the textures of the garden, giving the medium a silky quality that flows smoothly and holds the pigment beautifully, giving the final work a vibrant surface.
When dry, it will maintain its textured quality, giving the painting an almost 3-D effect that recreates the appearance of the flowers in bloom.
My slogan “recapture the emotion of nature” comes from using pulp material as my painting medium.
Summer’s End (2025), 48 x 32 x 2 inches. Abaca and cotton pulp, pure pigment. Private collection.
This large-scale painting of dahlia blooms creates the focal point for this room. The scale of the flowers and close-up composition create the “wow factor” upon entering the room. The painting calls your attention with its bright colors and textured surface.
I loved working with the collector to create this special painting that reminded her of her mother, and the times she spent with her children creating bouquets of freshly picked dahlias.
Collector Testimonial
I sit with this painting every morning while I have my coffeee. Each time, I try to find my favorite area. And every day, I find a new area to call “favorite.
Commission Inquiry
