BLUE HYDRANGEAS

I have always loved Hydrangea and have painted them many times and in many ways over the years. They feature heavily in the local gardens in Hove, but due to the alkaline soil, they are generally white or pink - never blue like the ones I recall from my childhood holidays in the West. 

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In August 2022 I took a few days away with an artist friend to go explore and paint in Cornwall's gardens. We visited the Lost Gardens of Helligan & The Eden Project, sketched and studied amazing exotic plant forms, on the lookout for new inspiration

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On the last morning, before the drive home, we popped into the Pinetum.  And there it was. This giant, blue Hydrangea bush.  And I fell in love. So much so that I climbed right inside it to take a ton of photos.

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I've been working on these paintings ever since and am will continue to return to this subject. 

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