Description

I photographed this single white Nigella flower in my friends garden. I found the photo compelling and subsequently painted it.

I wanted to achieve the feeling of a ghostly flower appearing through the darkness. I had the painting looking pretty good at one stage but it wasn’t 100% what I wanted. After letting it dry for a few weeks, I realised that I wasn’t attached to how it was looking, so I painted over it in ivory black (to knock it back a bit). It was shocking how well the black paint covered all my previous brush marks.

I had to work hard to bring the painting back. I used white spirit and a cloth to wipe the black off and reveal the shape of the petals underneath. I then carried on working into it to let some petals take form in the light and other to fall back softly into the background. I kept the stamens vibrant to make them stand out.

I felt drawn to this plant because I love the flavour of the seeds – I use them in my Indian style cookery.