International Orchid Show 2018

This is the second time I participated in Santa Barbara's International Orchid Show.

For this year's show I decided to run with a similar theme to last (unfortunately I was unable to snap photos of the 2017 paintings) and made these three Anthroporchids. I have lot of fun planting various orchid heads amongst human bodies in these semi-art noir, blues club, dive bar scenarios. They are confident and dressed elegantly, but exude a slight hint of melancholy.

Sometimes adhering to certain guidelines such as an "orchid theme" can help me break out of my comfort zone and spark some new ideas or compositions that I wouldn't normally explore. These paintings have also been a great way to study the vast diversity in orchid speciation. With somewhere between 20,000 - 30,000 orchid species, I definitely look forward to future additions of Anthroporchids.

Phala (Phalaenopsis) 18X24 (oil on canvas)

Cool Catt (Cattelya) 18X24 (oil on canvas)

I was honored and humbled when I found out "Cool Catt" received 2nd place in show.

Perist (Peristeria) 9X12 (oil on canvas)