Greetings everyone and a warm welcome to my new subscribers,
I know some of you say, ‘Where did that month go?’ when you see my newsletter turn up in your inbox, and I am asking myself the same question!
The first month of Spring has zipped by and the roses are still promising great things. But there is one rose in my garden which seems to say, ‘I don’t know why there is all this fuss about Spring, I will bloom all year round’. Let me introduce you to Nancy Hayward.
Last time we paid a visit to Monet’s Garden, this time it is Renoir’s turn, and we will see where he gathered his inspiration. The beautiful painting featured above is Spring Bouquet painted by Renoir in 1866.
From my bookshelf I have selected a book to share with you which shows how the paintings by the impressionists are great inspiration for floral arrangers.
I hope you enjoy what I have found for you this time.
Nancy Hayward is an Australian bred Alister Clark rose from 1937. It was bred from Rosa gigantea, a towering rose from Burma and the Himalayas, which has contributed to it being very vigorous and having a long flowering season.
Like Alister Clark’s other Winter blooming rose, Lorraine Lee, this rose is pruned early Autumn to ensure it is covered in Winter blooms. The five petals are a vibrant cerise with attractive yellow stamens that the bees like to visit.
Below is a pre-pandemic photo of me in front of the Nancy Hayward rose at the Victoria State Rose Garden.
Alister Clark named the rose after the younger daughter of the 21st Premier of Victoria, Sir William Irvine, a serious man who was nicknamed ‘Iceberg Irvine’ because of his cold aloofness and thoughtful demeanour.
Melbourne born artist, Ernest Buckmaster (1897 -1968), painted Sir William's portrait (pictured below) in 1932 and won the prestigious Archibald Prize.
Buckmaster was a prolific artist, sometimes completing three works in a day. Classicially trained, and not a fan of modern art, he painted portraits, landscapes, still life and was an official war artist at the end of World War Two, completing 51 works for the Australian War Memorial.
I have tracked down some of his works featuring roses.
I know some of you will find it interesting that Ernest Buckmaster lived in Mt Evelyn and painted many views of the Dandenongs, including this one which he is demonstrating to a group of art students in 1950.
Garden in the Rue Cortot, Renoir 1876
Self Portrait - Renoir aged 58
Of all the impressionist painters, Pierre Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) had the strongest affinity with roses. Starting his career painting roses on porcelain before the development of a porcelain transfer technique eliminated the need for hand painters, Renoir’s love of roses never waned. He painted dozens of still life arrangements with roses, he painted rose gardens, he included roses in his paintings of figures and even
studied rose petals to perfect the rosy glow of the skin tones of his models.
In France today there are two museums honouring Renoir, in his former homes, one in Rue Cortot, Montmartre, Paris and the other in Cagnes-sur Mer near Nice.
The area Renoir lived in Paris around 1875 had many fine houses with large gardens and he especially loved the month of June when roses were blooming everywhere. Below are pictures of the Renoir Gardens at the Musée de Montmartre, and a replica of his studio apartment.
In his later years, Renoir had the opportunity to have his own large garden when he rescued a property with a lovely old olive orchard that he liked to paint, from the developers. He moved into the picturesque old farmhouse, Les Collettes, in 1908 and it is now the Musee Renoir (pictured below).
Below is a selection of Renoir's many rose paintings. His painting style got looser as he got older and more afflicted with arthritis, but he never tired of painting roses.
Now I would like to show you a lovely book in my collection. On the left hand side you can see Renoir's Spring Bouquet painting and on the right, the floral interpretation of it and there are 24 of these in the book.
I like how the floral arrangements are inspired by elements in the paintings and not just an attempt to recreate the still life arrangement that the artist would have painted from. Shall we take a look at a few more?
Above is a painting of Roses in a Vase by Renoir from 1876 and below is the arrangement inspired by it. The setting for the photo below is Renoir's indoor studio at Les Collettes and the roses were
picked fresh from his formal rose garden.
Below is Renoir's painting Vase of Gladiolus from 1881.
And below is the exuberant arrangement featuring oriental lilies with the gladioli and powdery blue Russian sage as a filler.
Stop Press: The roses have started blooming
I didn’t think I was going to have any new season blooms out this month, but we just had a couple of warm days, and then the rose season began with blooms on my Masquerade climbing rose. The blooms start off yellow and magically turn pink. I look
forward to sharing what has transpired in the garden next time!
Postcards From My Readers
Just one day after my first rose bloomed, Lyn from Kilmore sent me a photo of her first rose. Lyn wrote: 'My first rose, nice perfume. It was one that my mum planted over 40 years ago.'
And take a look at Lyn's marvellous Spring blooms below, Renoir would be getting out his paintbrushes!!
And that brings us to the end of my ramble on roses and Renoir, hope you enjoyed the ride.
Until next time,
Love and roses,
Michelle
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My Novel: Rose Garden Reverie
A story of transformation set in a rose garden with rose care tips throughout the seasons.
The soft cover book is 110 pages long and costs $20 (Australian Dollars) per copy via the button below with free shipping worldwide.
Also available from online book sellers.
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May the beauty of nature inspire you everyday
Michelle Endersby Art
www.michelleendersbyart.com
phone: 0400 473 173
[email protected]
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