Interview: Revitalizing Botanical Artwork with Lively Electric Tones
“12 Sunflowers in a Ming Vase”
Artist Tim Fowler crafts large-scale botanical artworks with a striking twist. While plants can appear vibrant in nature, Fowler envisions a realm where leaves and flowers are infused with electric pinks, purples, and blues, showcasing a mix of artistic techniques. Acrylic paint, oils, spray paint, and pastels adorn his canvases. This enables him to form arrangements that highlight bold brushwork in one area alongside delicate sketched lines in another. The outcome is that there’s always something engaging to the eye, and it consistently captivates.
For the last five years, Fowler has concentrated on botanical themes in his work. His choice of plants varies, yet his selections are often personal; some are historically linked to his Caribbean ancestry, while others are plants he encountered during his travels. Similar to the plants he chooses, he feels a significant degree of freedom in his artistic approach to each creation. “I can paint loosely, in an abstract manner, or adopt a tighter, realistic style,” he shares with My Modern Met. “I can add and adjust compositions without feeling burdened by precision, proportions, or tone—this fits seamlessly with my style.” His use of color brings him joy, and he aspires to convey this emotion to viewers as well.
My Modern Met had the chance to converse with Fowler about his artistic endeavors, including how he initiated his journey into painting flora. Scroll down for our exclusive interview.
How did your painting journey begin?
I pursued Contemporary Fine Art at Sheffield Hallam University in the UK. I completed my degree in 2007 and regard my artistic journey as commencing from that milestone. However, the moment I recognized my aspiration to be an artist transpired earlier. In my mid-teens, I watched the 1996 film Basquiat. Prior to that, the only artists I was acquainted with were Picasso and Van Gogh. As a young mixed-race individual of Caribbean descent, I was inspired to see an artist who resembled me. Witnessing him transition from the streets to becoming a prominent figure in the art world—selling paintings and mingling with celebrities—was something I had never considered possible. From that point, my aim was to turn it into a full-time career.
As I developed my practice, I did everything feasible to promote my work. I engaged with social media, albeit before it evolved into the powerful tool it is today. I took part in small independent art fairs, open exhibitions, and organized my own displays. To sustain myself financially, I worked as a teaching assistant at a behavioral school. This provided a reliable income while also granting me ample time to dedicate to painting. The “real art world” is markedly different from university studies, thus I gained substantial insight into galleries and the business aspects of art along the way. Over time, I successfully promoted my work and began collaborating with galleries, which led to larger exhibitions and partnerships with major galleries both in the UK and abroad.
What inspires your compositions and the themes you focus on?
Over the last five years, I have concentrated on botanical themes. This has encompassed migratory and cash crops, plants with historical ties to my heritage, flora from my travels, and more recent discoveries. It all commenced when another artist introduced large banana plants into our shared studio at the end of summer, in preparation for the colder season. I quickly became enamored with their shape and the cycle of growth and decay. I started exploring botanical gardens, examining relevant literature, and traveling to tropical locations like Thailand and Barbados to capture my own photographs.
Currently, I find myself alternating between various categories of plants based on my mood or the desired painting style. I delight in creating large canvases, some reaching up to 9 meters (approximately 30 feet) for corporate installations and public venues, as well as smaller works for personal spaces. The aspect I enjoy most about painting botanicals is the liberating nature of it. I can approach it loosely, in an abstract manner, or with a more refined, realistic viewpoint. I can tweak and change compositions without feeling the weight of accuracy, proportion, or tone—this aligns wonderfully with my artistic style. Most of my artworks are directly based on photographs I’ve taken, but I also reference historical botanical illustrations. Lately, I have been producing mock-ups in Photoshop, altering them abstractly, and using those as a foundation for my work.
How does your creative process look like?
I would characterize my painting technique as quite dynamic. I struggle to focus on just one piece or remain stationary. I often work on several paintings at varying stages simultaneously. The primary hurdle to my creative process is my own mind. If I encounter difficulties with a particular piece, I don’t compel it; instead, I pivot to another work or embark on something new.
When I’m uncertain about the direction a painting should take, I acknowledge that I can’t impose a specific outcome—sometimes