Selected Works 2015-18
After the Storm Series
Three Small Paintings of
Paeonia officinalis ‘Rubra Plena'
In the south-east of England, during the month of June, the cottage garden peony blooms. Its semi-transparent petals are invariably subjected to sudden storms. There may be several storms in one day, perhaps lasting only a few minutes. This series, painted directly from observation, records the varying light manifestations and gravitational effects of this type of weather pattern, which may include sleet and hale. Storms come and go and the peony will hold rain water in its bloom, often causing it to bend and flex, When sunlight follows a storm, a bloom often turns to face the light. The quality and colour of this light determines the incandescence of the peony flora, transforming its appearance from the brilliancy of the early morning light into a deep rich maroon, on an overcast afternoon.
Coral G Guest
Pink dawn, Blooming in the Sun Rise After a Storm in the Early Hours.
Paeonia officinalis ‘Rubra Plena’.
Watercolour on paper
35 X 25 cm
2015
Hale and Wind, Dark Afternoon, Light Reflected on Petal Edge.
Paeonia officinalis ‘Rubra Plena’
Watercolour on paper
25 X 25 cm
2015
First Light, Cold Earth, Petals Partly Closed, Waiting for Sunlight.
Paeonia officinalis ‘Rubra Plena’
Watercolour on paper
35 X 35 cm
2015
When light touches a peony bloom at unpredictable times during a summer dawn or evening, it reaches our awareness as neither dark or bright, nor warm or cool. It is simply a momentary touch of the purity of hue that allows our reason to give-way to beauty. When the sun is low in the sky, the refraction of colour within their satin petals manifests as a radiant pink in the dawn of a warm sunlit morning.
Coral G Guest
The Mysterious Pink of the Peony Flower at First Light
Dawn Series 1
2018
Paeonia lactiflora ‘Edulis Superba’ Number 2
100 x 100 cm
Oil on Canvas