Botticelli’s Primavera

Some pieces of work hit you like a brick wall when you first see them. There are few pieces of art which have moved me, or stopped, me rather, than when I first saw Botticelli’s Primavera. The complexity of the scene, the array of colours, the chaos of the characters, the flowers!

It was a combination of admiration, yearning and ego which lead me to paint a version of my own to hang within my own home. I started the initial outline September 14th, 2018 and painted on and off for almost 3 years before finally completing the work.

That 3 years did include a 9 month stint in California where I did not take the piece with me. There were other times where I woke early and painted before work and months where I didn’t touch the canvas at all. The came first to finish my my 31st birthday, and when I wasn’t quite finished by May of 2021, I knew once we decided to move to London that I surely must finish it before we departed.

It was a labour of love , often of desperation, but mostly of learning. I painted every square inch of Venus’ dress at least 10 times. The face of Zephyr (the flying blue rapist on the right hand side) I think is one of the best faces that I’ve painted to date. None of it is perfect but I am proud of the result.

One day, I hope to live somewhere I can prominently display it, but this tiny flat in London is not the place.