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Irish Murdoch observed that "people from a planet without flowers would think we must be mad with joy the whole time to have such things about us", but art historians tell us that the painting of flowers is relatively recent. Yes, annunciation scenes centuries ago did contain lilies, but they were there as symbols of virginity and purity.
From the 17th century on, flowers in vases, indoors, were painted for their beauty, a practice that coincided with a movement from rural- to town-life. From Rachel Ruysch, through Manet, Cézanne, Van Gogh, Matisse and Picasso to Hockney (using an iPad Brushes app), artists have been creating joyful, exuberant flower paintings.
Wicklow-based Lucy Doyle belongs to that happy tradition. "I've always wanted to capture moments in time - all the joys in my life, like the fleeting beauty of some freshly picked flowers." She loves the "vibrant, positive feelings" colours evoke in her, and for this work, Summer Garden Arrangement, Doyle chose garden loosestrife and inula hookeri to "dominate the composition. I teamed them up with red crocosmia and some dahlias and arranged them in the biggest vase I had."
The flowers are real. Doyle picks the flowers, in her garden, the evening before "so that I can get a full day's painting the flowers before they change and wilt too much". But the vase, in reality, is plain. "It's not decorated; that is me, creating the right vase for the impact I wanted, in this case a Chinese-inspired dragon.
"And the table the vase is placed on echoes the yellows in the flowers, and the pattern anchors the vase in place, again mimicking the flowers in the vase but in a decorative stylised way. The background is there to make the yellows seem more yellow."
As soon as she was "old enough to pick up a crayon", Doyle "loved painting and drawing more than anything else. I found making marks on paper totally absorbing and I've always been aware of colour."
Doyle was born in Cambridge of Irish parents. "We moved around a lot when I was younger and we all lived in Kilmacanogue for many years when I was a child." At Sheffield City Polytechnic art department, "I found it hard at the beginning to work out my style - thick oil paint using a palette knife - but I always knew how I wanted my paintings to look; it just took me a long time to get there.
"My then-boyfriend, now-husband, moved to Ireland for a job when I was 20 and I joined him as soon as I graduated. He's English and had never lived in Ireland before but it really grew on him, which is why 40 years later we're both still here."
Facing the blank canvas "requires a lot of observation and concentration, and before I get going", Doyle feels "slightly daunted that it might not reach the colour intensity and drama that I was hoping for.
"Then the process of painting starts and I am swept up in the dynamic. I try to create colourful, life-enhancing paintings that are uplifting and stimulating in a positive way. I need colour in my life. People need colour in their lives."
After breakfast it's straight to her garden studio. Lyric FM or the same album on repeat for weeks - right now it's Kate Bush's Ariel. Lunch, a walk and then back in for a few more hours. As well as the gloriously vibrant flower paintings, Doyle also paints table-tops with plates, teapot, jugs, cakes, books - she loves Virginia Woolf, Antonia White, Rosamond Lehmann - and figures.
And what does she paint on a miserable, drizzly Thursday in November? "Probably an interior or still life with fruit and figures. All my figures are painted from my imagination so there's no problem there any time of year."
"I want to paint what is inside me," says Lucy Doyle.
With Summer Garden Arrangement, summer sings in her, and with this work on your wall, it's summer all year round.
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Thereafter, the ever-popular colourist Lucy Doyle, known for her still-life, interior and figure compositions, takes over, followed by Adam de Ville, Marika Rosenius, Francis Boag, Cormac O’Leary and more.
In your repertoire, flower paintings feature constantly, are they from your garden?
Yes, I love painting flowers, and a few years ago, when my daughter had a wedding from home, we turned the vegetable plot into an herbaceous border, to brighten up the garden and provide flowers for the tables. The vegetables are now in the polytunnel (another one of my painted subjects), and over the years the flowers beds are looking more established and very enticing. I now have a constant source of subject matter. But in the winter I will still venture into the local florist and purchase some beauties like the “Chrysanthenums” in this show. My favourite flowers were and still are dahlias and I buy new tubers every year to add to the crazy and heady mix that I have built up over the years. There is now every colour, shape and size you can imagine, all tumbling over each other and some reaching four foot in height, so you can imagine how starry eyed I get. It’s so exhausting painting a large arrangement of flowers like “Persian Flower Arrangement”, as there is a time-limit before flowers droop, petals drop, and stems rearrange themselves. I might have to spend 20 hours of solid observed painting on just the flowers themselves, so it can be draining. It feels like a real achievement when I have finally finished and bring them into the house for their next role which is to brighten up the home.
How and when do you paint?
My style is quite idiosyncratic and continues to develop. My priority has always been to put the physical attributes of the paint and the enhancement of colour first. Everything else comes second. This means that I can set out with a clear idea in mind and end up with a completely different composition as I have to follow the language of colour and form, and this happens in the dynamic of painting. Of course, composition and planning are essential and I think a lot about this and plan it down to the last detail, but I am often proven wrong and I have to humbly listen to what the paint is telling me to do next, and put my plans aside. This can make finishing a painting a long-term process, and sometimes means repainting an area over and over again before it’s resolved. Then sometimes a painting goes well from start to finish and it could be finished in a week and I might never have to work on it again, but this would be the exception rather than the rule. I paint impasto with a palette knife, this produces a thick textural paint layer which in itself becomes another aspect to my finished piece, creating its own world of shadows and highlights. I paint from life and bring objects into my studio to paint, I collect and source visual information like textiles, pattern books etc and then everything else is from my imagination. I cannot remember a time when I didn’t create pictures and I have never had, or can imagine having, any other occupation. In the early days I had to be very strict with myself and do my eight hours a day, but now I cannot divorce painting from any other part of my life, it’s just one and the same to me.
Need to Know: “Blue Moon” is on at The Doorway Gallery, 24 South Frederick Street, Dublin 2 from May 2 – 30; www.thedoorwaygallery.com. Penny McCormick
Can you tell us what events particularly inspired your new exhibition? I draw on my life for inspiration, especially my two grown-up daughters who now have children of their own. I run a home and garden with my husband, look after my pets, (including chickens), go for walks, shop, watch TV, cook, read, and of course I paint. My subject matter and my life are so intertwined that they are one and the same. So, I get inspiration from all or any of these daily interactions, and when something significant happens like the birth of a grandchild or a wedding then these experiences get absorbed and processed visually, sometimes being incorporated into a painting. “Wedding Day” is based around my eldest daughter getting married last year from her London home, she looked so stunning amongst a halo of flowers. Such a lovely subject to paint. On a less personal but very connected subject is “Spring Equinox” painted last spring when day and night lengths are equal. I wanted to symbolise spring by painting half the composition with a strong cadmium yellow then using dark violets and blue-reds to balance out and create contrast. A simple device but a strong brief to work with.
What is the significance of the exhibition’s title “Blue Moon”? A deliciousness of whimsy! A mood, a feeling, a sense of mystery, female energy, infused saturated colour, an inner light, a pool of serenity … all the ingredients to help me play with paint and conjure up ideas that make me happy. There was so much media coverage last year concerning blue moons, red moons, super moons, eclipses and harvest moons that I just wanted to join in the celebrations.
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Lucy Doyle - " Feast"
"This collection is being considered her strongest yet, as her years of experience come together to create visually stunning paintings."
St. John's ward , Crumlin children's hospital
"I love Lucy"
"Much loved for her cheerful and decorative style, Lucy Doyle's new collection of work..."
"We can think of nothing prettier to invest in right now"
"Lucy Doyle has quietly risen through the Irish art ranks in recent years- her striking oil paintings have caught the attention of everyone from Tommy Tiernan to Tommy's old Late Late sparring partner Pat Kenny, both of whom are avid collectors of her work. Doyle's latest show Scheherazade, can be viewed at Dublin's Doorway Gallery from November 7-28. We strongly suggest you find out what all the fuss is about."
"Contrasting the neutral pallet of the kitchen are two strong vibrant paintings by contempoary Irish artist,Lucy Doyle."
"Contrasting the neutral pallet of the kitchen are two strong vibrant paintings by contempoary Irish artist,Lucy Doyle."
"Artist Lucy Doyle's newest collection of paintings is called Walled Garden and is a celebration of all the good things in life from cream teas to escapist gardens. They're heavy on the paint, include a generous dash of good humour and pop with cheerful colour."
"She harbours a great love of the decorative frontal plane and explores the role that observed objects play within that condensed spatial format"
"She favours emotionally stimulating and richly textured tones that compliment and pay homage to the beauty and impact of colour."
Splurge!
"If you have the spare cash, art is always a prudent investment!"
"Not so long ago buying art was a somewhat intimidating experience, seen as the preserve of those with relatively deep pockets and 'in the know'. however, in recent years there's been a seachange in the area with many young people becoming collectors and an emphasis on 'accessible art'."
Visual Delight
"Lucy Doyle has an exceptional skill of using vibrant and exotic colours to paint images which excite the visual senses. Her paintings are also reflective of her vivacious and positive outlook on life. Here, Lucy lets us in to her rich and multi coloured world to tell us of her inspirations and her hopes for the future."
