Banksia Flowers

'Banksias Flowers' has a simple geometric composition with angular leaf shapes and vibrant flowers layered over angular background shapes.

- painted on linen
- hanging wire affixed
- would look wonderful with natural timber floating frame

The foreground composition of stylized inflorescences and leaves starts with a technical approach and the botanical outlines are drafted using AutoCAD : a program typically used by architects and engineers. These preliminary layouts are printed out and used as a guide for setting up the painting. Sometimes initial colour-planning is also done using photoshop. However rarely do these guides last long as it is nearly always impossible to mix colours that match and as soon as a few colours are on the canvas, these dictate what will work alongside them and then the initial plan goes out the window. As with most art, the work takes on a life of its own.

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Lydie Paton is a South Australian artist. Born in Adelaide, she initially completed a double degree in Architecture and Landscape architecture at the University of Adelaide. Her background in landscape design and an interest in environmental science underpin her selection of subject matter. She works in a variety of mediums including printmaking. Her paintings and etchings often have botanical or ornithological themes. Within these common themes the representation can be quite varied – sometimes more representational while at other times more abstract.

‘I find the creative process informs the direction a particular work takes and often something discovered during an abstract exploration goes on to inform some detail in a more representational piece.’
Lydie has been painting her whole life, but in 2013, she began formal studies in fine arts at the Adelaide College of the Arts. The exposure in this course, to diverse mediums, led to an interest in varied art making techniques and an enthusiasm for experimentation with materials. In 2015, Lydie spent two years in Toronto, Canada, studying printmaking and etching under the tutelage of Brian Hoxha. Since then, she has been producing aluminium plate etchings.

Lydie says of her practice; “I create compulsively. I have three young children and so finding time to paint is tricky, but I squeeze it in, because I can’t help myself. I have always loved oil paints, frustrating and messy as they can be, they have a particular quality and I’m drawn to the texture, the evidence of brush marks and the rich colour they bring to an artwork.”
Lydie has been painting and printmaking professionally since 2012 and has been a Bluethumb artist for over 10 years. Her artworks are hung all over the world, including the USA, Canada, the UK and Australia.