Soft Decadence

This painting began with flowers, but somewhere along the way it slipped into something more theatrical. The soft pink forms started reminding me of powdered interiors, crumpled silk and those over-the-top Rococo paintings where everything feels slightly too much in the best possible way.
I painted it quite loosely and instinctively, letting the image shift as I worked rather than trying to control it too much. Parts of the flowers dissolve into gesture and movement, while the deep navy shapes bring in a darker weight that stops the painting becoming overly sweet.
There’s something airy and romantic about it, but also a little awkward and excessive, which is usually the space I’m most interested in.

PLEASE NOTE: This painting is an original acrylic on unstretched canvas and will be shipped carefully rolled in a tube.
(Professional stretching or framing is required before hanging.)
STRETCHING & FRAMING OPTIONS
To give collectors flexibility, this artwork can be purchased in three ways via Bluethumb’s framing options:
UNSTRETCHED – the painting is shipped rolled in a protective tube.
STRETCHED ONLY – the canvas is professionally stretched and ready to hang unframed.
STRETCHED & FRAMED – the artwork is professionally stretched and fitted into your choice of a black, white or natural timber float frame, then wired and ready to hang.
Stretching and framing selections can be found via the Bluethumb framing options above the ADD TO CART button.

Please feel free to message me if you have any questions, thank you x Sally

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Floriosa is the botanical painting practice of Australian artist Sally Browne.
I've been making art for as long as I can remember. What was meant to be a one-year trip from the UK to Sydney in 1994 somehow became a permanent move, and Australia has been home ever since.
Much of my work begins outdoors. I love wandering through suburban streets noticing flowering trees, plants spilling over fences, unexpected colour combinations and the small details that most of us walk straight past. I often come home with armfuls of flowers, seedpods and odd little cuttings that eventually find their way into my paintings.

Although my work begins with observation, it rarely stays there. A vase of flowers, a flowering gum or a bird perched in the garden might provide the starting point, but colour, memory and imagination soon take over. I'm less interested in painting a particular flower than in capturing the feeling of being surrounded by nature.

Before becoming a full-time artist in 2015, I worked in graphic design, surface pattern and printmaking, experiences that continue to influence my love of colour, rhythm and composition. I'm also inspired by the simplicity and spontaneity of Chinese and Japanese ink painting, though over the years my own work has evolved into a looser, more contemporary style.

Alongside Floriosa, I maintain a contemporary fine art practice under my own name, exhibiting regularly throughout Australia. Over the past decade I've been fortunate to place hundreds of original paintings into private collections both here and overseas. These days, if I'm not in the studio, there's a good chance I'm wandering around Sydney with secateurs in my bag, bringing home flowers, seedpods and whatever else catches my eye.