Orchids - A Lifetime Passion in Oil Paintings by Matthew Holden Bates

"Yellow Orchids" oil on canvas - 40cm x40cm - ©Matthew Holden Bates, Firenze - All Rights Reserved

When I started painting, I really didn't know if I would find a theme or a style. I was attracted to Surrealism, especially the work of Salvador Dalí. What I didn't know at the time was that it wasn't the subject matter that I was impressed by Dalí's work, it was his attention to detail. I remember seeing a tiny little seascape he made where the people were so precise, every brushstroke was just so. I was mesmerised.

"Forgotten Horizon" by Salvador Dalí - 1936

Not long after seeing Dalí's paintings, I started to paint in a very realistic style. My favourite thing to paint was Still Life, one of my first painting was of a bowl of Cherries:

"Cherries" oil on canvas - 45cm x 35cm - private collection - ©Matthew Holden Bates, Firenze - All Rights Reserved

To make this painting was a challenge that I gave myself, I wanted to see if I could do it. Soon after I would start to paint flowers, and the most exciting and difficult flower to paint is the orchid. Back in 2002 I painted my first painting of Orchids:

"Orchids" oil on canvas - private collection - ©Matthew Holden Bates, Firenze - All Rights Reserved

I was really happy with this little painting especially when I sold it. This was right at the beginning of my art career, and I was pushing my boundaries. This painting would inspire another painting a few years later, as I was honing my skills I made one of my iconic painting, the one that I use in my header here at Steemit:

"Orchids" oil on canvas - private collection - ©Matthew Holden Bates, Firenze - All Rights Reserved

Both of these orchid paintings are set in an imaginary jungle, a bit different than my usual strictly realistic themes. It gave me a chance to have a bit of fun, playing with the background, while focusing on the details of the flowers. In the second painting I started to experiment with the use of the Fibonacci Series. Here is the painting with the Fibonacci Grid on top to show you how it fits into the overall design of the painting:

"Orchids" (Fibonacci Grid) ©Matthew Holden Bates, Firenze - All Rights Reserved

Recently I painted another Orchid painting, probably my most ambitious one to date:

"Purple Orchids" oil on canvas - ©Matthew Holden Bates, Firenze - All Rights Reserved

One thing that I have to mention about these paintings is that they are usually a distraction from a much larger project. I work on enormous cityscapes:

http://www.mattbates.net/Gallery-Cityscapes-Firenze.html

which require months, if not years to complete. Sometimes I need a break from the large cityscape painting, and I have found that painting orchids is a great way to relax and recharge my batteries to finish the bigger project. I think that it is the minutia in the details that I get excited about. The funny thing is that since I am also working on something else, the Orchids take a long time to finish as well. Art is not a race to the finish line. It is better to have one good painting than many sloppy sorry excuses for canvases. At least I think so!

If you like my artwork and would like to learn more about me and my body of work you can follow me on Steemit @matteopaints , visit my official site: http://www.mattbates.net . Upvotes and resteems are always welcome and I look forward to reading your comments on this post!! If you would like to have one of my artworks, they are for sale, and if you are on a budget, believe me most everyone is, then I also offer most of my paintings as limited edition prints. Check out my shop at:

https://www.curioos.com/mattbates