CAMELLIA STILL LIFE

Below is a very interesting story behind one of my most recent commissions.   My job was to create a watercolor painting from beginning to end. However, this project took on a life of it’s own and a history that dates back to 1872.

Some dear friends of mine, Steven and Jean Moore, asked me if I would create a watercolor to go over their mantel in their newly renovated home. I was delighted that they thought of me to fill this prominent spot in their home.

So my husband and I traveled to Fayetteville, NC to see the space and to come up with a plan.  I asked my friends what they would like to have me paint.  At first, they were unclear, but one thing they did know was that they wanted to bring the outside in.  So we went outside.  Little did I know that their property was loaded with different varieties of camellias, which were just starting to bud.  It was then decided that the painting would have camellias.   How the painting would be composed was the next hurdle.  The space where the piece would hang was more wide than tall.   A landscape orientation was in order. Should we do branches of flowers or a wide floral arrangement?

I went home and started researching camellias and how other artists depicted this subject.  In the meantime, Jean and Steven did their own research. They sent me a picture of the cover of a catalog that dated back to 1900. It had a large flower arrangement, and they wanted me to paint something similar. I told them it would be best if they picked flowers from their plants and had them arranged in a similar fashion. Then they were to take pictures and send them to me. Below is the background story on the catalog and how it all worked out.

During Jean and Steven’s exploration of their property and camellia plants, interesting things started to happen. Below is Steven’s recount of the many aspects of this project:

“While house-hunting in 2019, we were especially attracted to one house for its old and established flowering plants – dozens of azaleas and camellias, a pretty stand of rhododendron, and others –throughout the large yard.

The home was on the original site of a garden center named Sunnyside Floral Nursery, where most of these plants originated.

With a little research and help from friends in the Fayetteville Camellia Society, we learned that Sunnyside dated back to 1872 and was known for camellias. In a Sunnyside catalog from 1900, the owner wrote, “We wish to call special attention to our stock of hardy single Camelia Japonicas. For out-door planting there is nothing better, as they are perfectly hardy here. A fine Evergreen and blooms early. 25 to 50 cents.”

Sunnyside was founded by James Lamb, an Irish immigrant. The nursery and florist thrived for several generations of Lambs. However, as Fayetteville grew, the property gave way to development. Today, about 25 homes sit on the Lambs’ former property.

We determined that the yard is home to 40-50 camellias of about 16-20 different varieties – whites, pinks, reds and variegated in all camellia shapes such as single, anemone, peony, rose-form, and double formal.

After we renovated the house, we decided to find a striking piece of art to go over the mantle in our living room – a focal point when guests arrive. Jean and I looked at the empty space above the mantel and decided we needed a Kathy Flood up there.

With Kathy, the conversation began with something outdoors – birds and/or plants. It was December when the first camellia buds were barely out, which gave us the idea of painting camellia flowers from the yard.  We had a catalog from Sunnyside with an arrangement on the front and decided to ask Kathy to recreate something similar for the painting.

Sunnyside Floral Nursery Catalog

Dianne MacIlwinen, a family friend of many years, is remarkably talented in arranging flowers. When we asked her to help, she was enthusiastic about the project. She told us that, as a young girl, she was a friend of the Lamb girls and used to play on the Sunnyside nursery grounds.

Jean posted the catalog cover on social media asking if anyone had a similar container we could borrow and gave a background on the project. Our friend, Hank Parfitt at City Center Gallery and Books, read the post and called to say he had been in contact with some of the Lamb descendants, who live elsewhere now. He gave us a booklet they had created about Sunnyside.  Soon, two of the Lamb girls came to Fayetteville to tour the property where their ancestors had lived and worked.

As for the vessel, Jean and Dianne ultimately decided on a silver bowl that has been in Jean’s family for at least three generations. Her brother, Dickson Schaefer, loaned it to us for the project.

The day came in the second week in March, which is about the peak time for camellia blooms in this part of the country. Dianne and Steven went around the yard and picked a variety of the most attractive camellias in bloom, of all different shapes and colors.

Camellias picked from the yard

Dianne had also brought some greenery and other supplemental plants from her yard, and some mahonia from the yard of another family friend, Lulie Harry. Lulie is a retired history teacher and was also a childhood friend of the Lambs, so she obviously took an interest in the project.  Ironically, she also taught history to Jean, Dickson, our two children, and his four children in 7th and 11th grades.

Dianne spent an entire afternoon on arranging the flowers. When it came time to capture it in a photograph, we turned to another old family friend, Hal Broadfoot, an accomplished artist and photographer. A perfectionist, Hal took photos for almost an hour and then cleaned up the lighting on his computer the next day.

Arrangement created by Dianne MacIlwinen. Photo by Hal Broadfoot

Now, it is in Kathy’s hands to finish and it will be framed by Jean’s first cousin Robin Kelly, who owns Lisa’s Picture Framing. "

After I received the photo of the camellia flower arrangement, I began the process of figuring out how I was going to handle this watercolor.

I started with a color chart and small watercolor sketch deciding on composition, colors and values. I used M. Graham watercolors for this painting. After those decisions were made, I then drew the arrangement on a full sized sheet of Arches 300 lb watercolor paper, and started painting in a small area so that I could see how the colors worked together in the actual painting.

Preliminary sketch/color study

Drawing, color chart and beginning stages.

 Then I worked my way through the painting, one section at a time.

In process

In process

Below is the final product:

Sunnyside Up

Watercolor 20” x 30”

Kathy Flood

Framing by Robin Kelly of Lisa’s Picturing Framing in Fayetteville, NC

This painting took numerous hours to complete, but I am very happy with the result. I feel blessed to be a part of this project, and I hope Jean and Steven will enjoy Sunnyside Up for many years to come.