Why do I always paint flowers by Lily Bacon

It wasn’t always this way. The magic and beauty of a wide variety of subject matter inspire me to no end.

From a very young age, I was captivated by the human body. I remember trying to get a glimpse of my extremely modest father as he dressed in his walk-in closet. I was not successful. For a while, I drew what I imagined a body looked like.

In college, at Parsons School of Design, I was finally able to observe what I had been seeking. I was passionate about drawing and painting the nude form. I continue to be inspired by my visual life and my own interpretation of it. I love describing space by placing emphasis on the world around an object rather than the object itself.

Once I finished art school, I moved to Woodstock, NY. The landscape was spectacular, and I started painting it and the flora that grew in it.

When drawing and painting plants and flowers, I could concentrate on the forms and spaces between the shapes, and that leap in technique brought me to a new way of seeing.

And then there is the abstract experience I have when I develop a composition. It happens when I first come to a blank canvas. I start to feel a balance in the way I place the elements of what is to be included in the image. I may experience some discomfort if pieces of the painting don’t feel right to me. I search and move forms around constantly, until I feel comfortable with what I see.

I am affected by my deep interest in the shapes that jump out when approaching my muse – flowers – as well as the endless array of new subtleties of colors that never cease to inspire me.

Once in a while, I go back to painting land and seascapes, but I have always returned to that which has my my deepest affection and has led to the most profound of inspirations, those floral beauties.