As the seed catalogues hit our doormats and we cosy up by the fire, dreaming of spring, let Georgie Richardson’s collection of Flower Portraits stir the imagination and remind us of the seasons to come. Of names momentarily forgotten in the depths of winter; hellebore, hyacinth, poppy, primula, foxglove and chard.

A graduate of Fine Art Painting at Winchester School Of Art, Georgie Richardson doesn't have to go far to find inspiration. In her garden that surrounds her home and studio in the foothills of the Black Mountains in Herefordshire, the artist nurtures a careful balance between wildness and cultivation. 

Celebrating the self-seeders that make a home in her garden, means that all manner of surprising compositions occur; a foxglove may settle beside the calendula, and a knapweed pops up under a rose. It is these relationships that Georgie explores within her work.

There is a theatricality to this collection. As though each one is a stage set, with their Bloomsbury-style swags, borders and dark backdrops. 

At this special time of year, when we are full of anticipation for all the seasons to come, Georgie has captured this delight. The energy bursting forth from the bare earth into these fireworks of floral displays is palpable. From small scale primroses to huge hellebores, these works have real impact.

We couldn't think of a more wonderful and uplifting collection to start the year. Outside, as the tips of bulbs are pushing through the bare earth and names, momentarily forgotten in the depths of winter, are recalled again. 

Georgie's use of bold, graphic marks combined with her observational skills means that she is able to get directly to the essence of a form. A difficult accomplishment for any artist, this fluidity and ease belies the amount of work and time it takes to master this. Such beautifully observed and simplified forms are the stuff of a skilled artist at work.

Any gardener, or observer of flowers, will recognise and delight in the familiar structures and habits of specific plants seen throughout Georgie's work; the tendril of a sweet pea with its furry pods; trumpet-like flowers of the nicotiana, the tobacco flower (above); primula rising from their wide bases and nasturtiums captured from every angle (below).

All of these are painted with a playful yet sophisticated use of watercolour and ink. Flashes of brights amongst the muddy greens and pale pinks - it immerses the viewer right in the centre, in the sheer excitement of blooms.

The artist refers to her work as Flower Portraits and, through them and documenting the changing seasons, she hopes to ‘provide an anchor and comfort from which to navigate this transient life’.

We then commissioned Georgie to create a series of painterly moths to pollinate her Artist's Garden collection. Illuminating the garden at dusk, like delicate silk, each one is captured in Georgie's signature energetic and colourful hand.

Flying into An Artist's Garden, species to spot include the elephant hawk moth (above), the yellow underwing and the ermine moth.

 

Make like a lepidopterist and display a collection together.

Above, the Puss Moth, so named as their fluffy appearance brought comparison with a pussycat.

Above: Large Yellow Underwing, framed in black wooden frame. 

The delicate beauty of the tissue-paper like layers of the Green Oak Roller Moth

There is a theatricality to this collection. As though each one is a stage set, with their Bloomsbury-style swags, borders and dark backdrops.

Like a player in a play, each specimen is waiting to have its turn in the spotlight -  as the seasons change and the sun moves around to shine on that specific plant, or signify to a moth that it’s time to metamorphose from its cocoon, spreading its glorious wings in these silk-like gouache and ink paintings.