From pen to paint: the inspiration behind my ballerina poppy tutu painting

"The delights of summer" has danced into life. This ballerina flower tutu painting is a reworking in oil paint of one of my Ballettoons sketches. 

It has its launch at the first Otley Arts Kollective showcase in September and is now poised for you to enjoy on my website.

It's a celebration of simple pleasures. The delight of simply sketching an idea and colouring it in.The transcience of summer blooms and dancing petals. The warmth of experimenting with a different colour palette. The creaminess of paint. And the joy of upscaling a teeny pen sketch and transforming it into luxurious oil paint. Gestural brushstrokes. Lively layers.

The original Ballettoons drawing is a humble postcard size drawing on rather flimsy paper. The canvas version a bold 40 by 50 cm painting. At the outset, I worried the dainty ballerina figure would get lost in such a big canvas. But she dances joyfully on the blooms in the foreground. 

Flower tutus in oil are always a challenge. Oil paint is dense and the essential lightness of tulle is easly lost if the petals are too heavy  or overworked. I'm delighted I managed to balance depth and delicacy in this one, especially as I was experimenting with bold, gestural application of paint. 

Collectors tell me they love the originality of my flower tutu paintings. As a child, I was inspired by the flower scene in the Snow Queen ballet. After watching this, I spent weeks imagining a flower ballet and sketching flower costumes inspired by our home garden. I don't have my notes or sketches from way back then. But the opportunity to fuse my love of flowers and dance continues.