This common orchid is treasured for their classic yet contemporary style by so many home gardeners. When the sun is glowing, I like to use my camera to catch the luminosity and shadows that form as the light passes through the petals and leaves of many flowers in my garden and in my house.
One afternoon I noticed how the bright southwest light was affecting this plant in my living room window; as the light passed through the twists and turns of various flower parts, it created beautifully coloured and toned shadows and intensely coloured light areas. Capturing the variety of colours, values and temperatures in paint as seen in these backlit flowers is a challenge that I enjoy in attempting to create them realistically but larger-than-life. Painting flowers larger than life is more of a challenge but one that I find creates a painting with impact. My reference photos from that scene helped me to create in oils on canvas a lasting image of this beauty.