MICHAEL LYONS

Violet
 

Michael painted this charming little violet from a black and white photograph. Despite having no colour references he's managed to create a very convincing illustration. It has a lovely, old-fashioned feel to it... maybe it's the violet, an old-fashioned favorite?

This painting is a perfect example of how important "negative spaces" are to a composition... those shapes in a drawing or painting that are created by what isn't there. That little white flame shape at the centre of the leaf is such an intrinsic part of what makes this painting so satisfying. Use your finger to block it out and you'll see what I mean.

MICHAEL LYONS

Linden | Tilia americana

 







































Michael's dried linden leaf and seed cluster, elegantly suspended in space...

MICHAEL LYONS

Ginko Biloba Leaf

Michael labored long over this little leaf... a dried specimen pressed inside a book.
Carefully observed, the detailed scarring and wear on the surface has been captured very sensitively, along with the characteristic fan-like veining. All the preparatory paintings, and there were many, were time well spent to arrive here.

MICHAEL LYONS

Mantacaea

Michael's Prayer Plant... quietly and gracefully praying...
The composition captures the graceful nature of this kinetic plant.
I especially admire the back of the leaf, and the subtlety of the stem.

MICHAEL LYONS

Clover

 

Michael's studies of two kinds of clover...
It takes time to work out how to paint something so it's wise to make small studies and try different approaches and work out some challenges. 
Going straight into a painting without exploring the territory can lead to disappointment. Each new subject is a great new mystery to solve. 
It all takes time. Slowing down and spending that time with your subject is the way to uncovering its secrets and coaxing it into showing you how to paint it well.

MICHAEL LYONS

Helleborus Leaf

Another fine study in green with a blushing red stem.

A simple composition with plenty of space allows the beauty of the form to resonate like the sounding of a bell.

The up-sweep of this unusual leaf lends a lightness and joy to this tender painting.

MICHAEL LYONS

Olive 

Fragment from a beautiful olive tree... artfully composed.

The olives are painted much larger than life to show their subtle speckled texture.

The branch is especially delicate and beautifully painted.

Michael learned a lot about colour and the subtleties of mixing greens with this painting... the perennial challenge of the botanical painter.

Here it is before the branch and the olives were added... like an elegant green bird...

MICHAEL LYONS

Japanese Anemone

Michael Lyons took my October class at Emily Carr and produced this remarkable first painting, a light and airy study page of Japanese Anemones. 

He said he has always wanted to learn this, since he was a child... and what a promising start!

Fine, delicate brush work, well observed and carefully rendered...

 details...