BRIAN MAHIEU - - Island Garden--Tithonia and Cleome, Oil, 36x36

Original oil on gallery wrapped canvas, 36 X 36 X 1.5 inches

I have been making ornamental gardens since the mid 1980s after seeing Monet's Garden in Giverny.  That was a life-altering experience on many levels-opening my eyes to what ornamental horticulture could be.  Over the years, I have painted many floral landscapes of my gardens and they have always been hugely popular with my collectors.  Creating a garden is making a living art form, and I take great pleasure in growing plants for my garden from seeds and cuttings when possible.  This year, in my greenhouse, I planted around seventy-four varieties of flower seeds.  This large canvas captures a scene from the garden last summer when it was burgeoning with Tithonia and Cleome I grew in the greenhouse. The painting is a symphony of green, yet it does not feel like a green painting. Using brushes and palette knife, I layered on the buttery oil paints in luxurious marks of color that viewers have compared to cake icing. Molten Mexican sunflowers (Tithonia) create a tapestry with Cleome, Solanum, bananas, gingers, Cannas and Vitex. In the distance, a glimpse of the harbor and Whidbey Island landscape glow in the evening light.