Nathalie Vachon's loose botanicals in oil

Why these florals

These read as colour first and flowers second, so the palette decides everything

Because the blooms are abstracted rather than described, the painting behaves in a room much more like a block of colour than a still life.

The thing people underestimate is the surface. These are built in layers, with knife ridges and dragged paint sitting proud of the canvas, and that texture only shows itself when light crosses it from the side. A downlight sitting directly above the frame flattens the whole thing into a photograph of itself. Move the light off to an angle, or hang the work on a wall that catches window light late in the day, and the paint comes alive.

For width, aim for roughly two thirds of the furniture below and leave at least 20cm of clear wall either side, since abstracted florals need air to stay loose rather than busy. Go bigger than feels safe: undersized florals look decorative, large ones look considered. Pull a secondary colour from the canvas for cushions or a rug, never the dominant one, and keep it off patterned wallpaper, which fights the brushwork.

How your painting is made

1. Choose the size and finishSeven standard sizes from 60 × 50cm to 200 × 135cm. Stretched ready to hang, rolled, or one of our frames. The size guide on every painting shows it to scale.
2. Painted to order, by handA university-trained artist paints your piece in oils on canvas, working from the original. Two to three weeks at the easel, then drying time.
3. Stretched, framed, checkedGallery-wrapped or framed in our workshop, then photographed and checked before it leaves.
4. Delivered free, Australia-wideMade to order in 21 to 28 days, then tracked to your door. Thirty-day money-back guarantee if it isn't what you hoped.