Fantin was inspired by the floral paintings of Henri Fantin-Latour, a mid-nineteen century French Beaux-Arts painter. His exuberant roses and crisp detailed chrysanthemum’s (to name a few) were highly sensual and tactile in their realistic rendering.

Fantin has a intuitively balanced surface noted for its lush color choices and supple drippy-ness. The stencils that made up the under-layers of the canvas were composed according to size and shape and immediately fell into place with little futzing or cajoling of the composition. The painting reflects this immediacy.

Many layers of the semi-transparent creamy white paint were utilized to create the surface of the painting. “After a layer of colorful pigment had dried I would follow the application with a layer of creamy “chrysanthemum” white.” This continued until a luscious satisfying surface was attained.

Fantin is a bold pinch your cheek and tickle your chin combination of captivating compositional surface with a highly seductive color palette.