All plant life is filled with mystery and emotion. I want to explore and unveil this in my work.
When I moved to the Pacific Northwest, I became drawn to the local flora
and fauna. After years of painting landscapes, I delved into the powerful,
up-close world of florals and botanicals. Visiting Hawaii on several
occasions added to my inspiration, where I also became captivated by exotic
flowers and vegetation.
Combining the realism of the subject matter, and the abstract organic shapes, challenges and excites me. By zooming in, I’m able to explore the realistic image as well as observing the abstract shapes and values that combine to make up the subject and composition. I’m still very involved in this theme.
The energy, movement, structure, and geometry of the subject matter, together with the strong contrast of dark and light, help create a spectrum of various moods and emotions which emanates from the subject matter. I try to capture these feelings in my work.
My goal is to make each flower or plant as compelling and visually exciting as possible – to recreate a rich and intriguing rendition of my subject matter, bridging realism with abstraction by portraying emotionally powerful
observations of organic forms with all their intricacies.
~Sophie Frieda