Floral design: beauty in decay

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A perfect flower, or a perfect photo of a perfect flower, may be good promotional material for a flower shop, but as an aesthetic image it can become somewhat sterile. I have had long conversations with fellow designer Onno Raadersma about whether or not to digitally cover up occasional wilted leaves or brown spots (what Photoshop was designed for initially, I guess...)

Back in art history class I was always fascinated by the so-called ‘memento mori’ in paintings; reminders of the inevitability of death. Most common would be a skull somewhere in the composition, but it could also be a bug in a lush bouquet of flowers.

I am not principally against adding or taking away some details in a photo, but I always check if the character of the flower is not compromised by it. It is tempting to keep working on an image, until you zoom out and suddenly realize you have taken it too far and the flower has lost its character. It is very inspiring to look at traditional Japanese paintings of nature; they know best about keeping the tension between irregularities and harmony.

Interested in seeing my new floral patterns? Contact me for access to my online portfolio.