Cornwall LivingIssue #134
Floral mastery
Artist Florence Super brings botanicals to life in exquisite murals.
Preferring to work onto recycled or reclaimed surfaces and using, recycled paints where possible, Florence Super’s work takes inspiration from colours, culture, contrasts, movement and wildlife experienced while travelling and diving around the world. With murals gracing the walls of business and private homes across the globe, Florence was recently commissioned to create a beautiful botanical celebration of the amazing plant life that can be found at The Duchy of Cornwall Nursery. The conversation began in early January 2021 when Florence was approached to discuss the possibility of creating a mural on one of their café walls.
After agreeing the design ethos, which was to reflect plants that could be purchased at the nursery, Florence mapped out the shapes on the wall to ensure that the composition was perfect. Using acrylic paint, Florence’s favourite medium, allowed her to create texture and depth without the paint taking too long to dry. Adding the detail, Florence applies the paint freely, using a large range of colours, all whilst moving with the paint as the work progresses. This detail is usually applied in as many as six layers, with each layer fluidly applied across the whole piece in one go. Working in this way provides Florence the opportunity to sit back and see how the mural is taking shape, identifying any elements that might need further attention. The finished mural consists of a huge variety of plants, and reaches from the walls of the nursery café up to the sloped ceiling and round onto perpendicular walls, adding an extra bespoke element.
As well as botanical murals, Florence has also been commissioned by Highgrove to create a painting for an exclusive range of china. Originally designed and hand-painted by Florence onto recycled wooden panels and first showcased at The Garrison Chapel during the Chelsea Flower Show in 2022, the delphinium design has now been reproduced and transferred onto a range of fine bone china kitchenware in the home of British pottery in Stoke-on-Trent. The intricate light blue delphinium, HRH King Charles’ favourite flower, wraps around the cup while a crescent- shaped delphinium adorns the saucer.
FLORENCE SUPER