“My paintings of flowers are very cyclical,” says Sean Curley, the British oil painter. “They go in cycles of popularity and as people become really fed up with the global economic situation they look for something that cheers them up — the beauty of flowers makes them very happy,” he explains. Curley has been painting flowers for the past 13 years and his success snowballed after he produced four large works for a UK gallery. “The owner of another gallery saw them and bought all four,” he recalls. “And then over a three-year period he proceeded to buy hundreds more from me.” Curley's work is now exhibited in countless galleries throughout the UK as varied as Wimbledon Fine Art in London and the Quarr Gallery in Swanage, but his work can also be seen at the Corte-Real Gallery in the Algarve, Portugal. “I have always wanted my work to be enjoyed by an international audience,” he says, adding that his work can be viewed on his website, www.seancurleyfineart.co.uk. Quintessentially English It is “the natural interweaving of plant forms” that makes watercolorist Susie Lidstone “especially obsessive” about the flowers she paints. “Patterns in plant forms are quite abstract in their formation,” explains the artist, who is inspired by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, the Scottish architect, designer, water colorist and artist. “I love roses, which are quintessentially English — sometimes people think they are an old person's flower but that's not the case at all. I am also enjoying painting orchids and anemones at the moment. I suppose you might call my work realistic abstract — you can get lost in the movement of flowers as you paint them.” Depending on the size and intricacy of a painting, it can take Susie between a week and a month to produce a piece, many of which can be viewed on her website, www.susielidstone.com. But flowers don't necessarily need to be painted with botanical detail, according to watercolorist Ali Lindley, who specializes in this particular field. Freedom of expression “My former career as a florist has undoubtedly given me an instinctive appreciation of floral forms in their artistic sense, allowing a freedom of expression,” she says. A member of the Society of Women Artists and the Society of Floral Painters, she exhibits with both on a regular basis and her work can be seen at www.alilindleyartist.co.uk. All three artists are keen to exhibit with galleries in Saudi Arabia and welcome approaches from collectors in the Middle East. Their profiles can be seen at www.creativecoverage.co.uk where they can be contacted directly. — SG
