Vivid Australia Limited Edition Print Release

A brand new style for me! The ‘Vivid Australia’ Collection is a limited edition, 3 piece set consisting of ‘Boronias & Butterflies’, ‘Hibiscus & Homalictus Bees’, and ‘Rhododendrons & Damselflies’.

The first spark of an idea for these art prints

My initial idea for these prints came the same way all my others do – I first came across an Australian Native and got inspired! This one in particular, the Boronia Serrulata, was a random Google search that I was doing to see if there was such thing as an Australian Rose – it cam up because it’s commonly called a Native Rose. (You can read more on them here)

I was taken with the shape of the flower, and the colour, and my first reaction was, oh that would look so nice in a line drawing, I wonder if I could do it justice? (Turns out, yes, I can) After completing the drawing, (and scanning it just in case) I turned to my new Derwent Inktense Watercolour set to dash on some vibrant colour – and I loved the result immediately. The Boronia is paired with an insect that I’ve had in my head I wanted to draw for a while – I just hadn’t found the right outlet yet. My take on a range of Australian Butterflies, from the Red Lacewing Butterfly to the Cruiser Butterfly, are completed in black and white to create contrast between the plants & insects. Visit the artwork page itself here.

How it all came together

I knew I had one piece now that I was in love with – but I wasn’t sure if this should become a collection, or simply a stand alon artwork. But, then if anyone out there is like me, you would really rather buy a piece that ‘matches’ something else, and so I began researching other flowers that might suit this style. The style itself was already a jump for me – I’ve not completed anything like this one previously, so I really wanted to make sure I had a clear direction on where to go next.

I found the Hibiscus Splendens next, and my brain registered the petal similarity in the way I could draw it. After a quick test draw (this is me just doodling ideas, but test draw sounds way more official don’t you think?) I started working on the insect to feature with it. At first I was going to continue working on more butterflies, but to be completely honest, I got bored drawing them – and then after I clicked onto the alliteration with the ‘Homalictus Bees’, I couldn’t look any further. My take on these teeny tiny natives that sparkle in real life with glints of aqua, golden green & orange are not exactly to scale, but quite close. I wanted to use another colour with supreme vibrancy, but branch out from the pink a little, and so mixed a lovely orange, red and pink combination for this work. The Hibiscus artwork can be found here.

The next few pieces

The Rhododendron Lochiae followed soon after the Hibiscus – again, a little unusual, but beautiful and delicate, and with enough shape to give another artwork that I wanted to be pink a different feeling. It’s paired up with the Australian Flatwing Damselfly – I did want to continue the alliteration, but once I read the name Damselfly, I was a goner. The name has such fairy tale connotations, and I loved that association with my artwork. See the full artwork right here

After that…. it’s complete!

A few little magic touches, and a lot of test printing (this is where I realised they all need the combining background factor, so test printing colours to match all three was an essential step) – my latest collection was born! What do you think of it? It’s a new venture for me, with the combinations of all the different styles, I’m hoping everyone loves them as much as I do. What do you feel when you look at these pieces together?