The botanical paintings of Georg Douglas tread a line between reality and abstraction. “I paint what we see—the color and form of petals and leaves, but I also include microscopic and molecular features and theoretical representational models of the proteins, collagens and tissue which make up the plants…At this invisible level the variety of forms continues and even increases, and their inclusion broadens and deepens our view and perception of flowers,” he says.
Buttercup diagnosis, oil on canvas, 39 x 39"
The artist, born and raised in Northern Ireland and now living in Iceland, where he has had citizenship since 1975, has won numerous awards for his otherworldly florals. Several of his works are on display in public institutions including Hamrahlíð College and the University of Iceland, Reykjavík, as well as the Icelandic Embassy.
Blue flowers, oil on canvas, 78¾ x 118"
Life of a buttercup (diptych), oil on canvas, 39 x 78¾"Describing his approach in capturing the microscopic and molecular features of his subjects, he says, “I ignore scale and jumble objects of very different sizes, thus moving the paintings more to the abstract. I also find that widening our field of view in this way imparts a strong sense of complexity and movement to many of the paintings, which to me, are key features of the natural world. The final result is something which we recognize as being rooted in the joy of flowers, but which goes further and makes us aware of a new dimension, which can even sometimes be puzzling or at least thought-provoking.” —
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