I paint flowers because they are somewhere in the middle on the spectrum between still objects and live models. I don’t want to paint live models anymore at this point because I can’t escape empathy with the model. I don’t want to paint inert things because I want to sense the breathing and movement of things, I like the natural organic forms over the human made ones. Flowers are a great compromise for where I am in my painting process. With flowers I can concentrate on colors, forms, movement and energy, which I want to combine in my paintings. Flowers allow me to navigate more freely on the spectrum of object identity (I am not a botanical specialist so I am free). Flowers allow me to work with the elements and the big picture at the same time (bouquets can be considered a sum of flowers or multiple individual flowers, and I alternate between the two experiences). Flowers are colors and shapes by themselves (reminds me of Matisse). Flowers are a great excuse for experimenting with paint handling (various textures). Flowers have other dimensions, which is great on a synesthetic standpoint (smell, symbol, esthetics..). Finally, flowers allow me to reflect on empathy, which is my relationship with what I am looking at, whether it is a human being or a thing. I have more empathy with a human body than with a vase, but I do have some intermediate level with living things like trees and flowers. Thus, while painting flowers, I can navigate on my own spectrum of empathy in regards to painting in general. Empathy fascinates me: how it works, how we can ‘t resist to it, how it affects how I see and how I paint, from the visual integration of information to the output of the touch of the hand. It is a core question in my neuroesthetic quest. Bouquets are complex enough in terms of structure and color to fulfill my needs of multidimensional paintings. I develop both my sensorial and analytical approach of painting, in a way that is finally relevant to me because I care about both dimensions.
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