A 10-by-4-foot painting hangs in a crowded corridor, the mismatched panels of watercolor creating a larger-than-life mosaic of flowers.
The collaboration between 10 artists was kept secret from the public — and the artists themselves — until the boards covering each panel were recently removed one by one to reveal the full picture.
Even a couple of weeks after the unveiling of the "Symphony of Susans," some of the artists gathered by the piece in Baker Hall Visitor Center at Norfolk Botanical Garden to discuss the project and their painting process, while amateur artists asked questions about tone, texture and technique.
“I’ve always wanted to collaborate with another artist on a project,” said Charlie Frances, who came up with the idea of the exhibition. And when he was gifted a large roll of watercolor paper, he decided not to collaborate with one, but with nine.
Frances took the paper and sketched a landscape of black-eyed Susans across it and then divided the paper into 2-by-2 panels for each artist.
“They’re the simple flower that everybody draws when they’re in kindergarten, you know, the green stem, the yellow petals and the black center.”
Frances wanted simplicity so that each artist could really show their own style and interpretation.
And then he thought, “Wouldn’t it be cool to keep it a secret from one another?”
Frances didn't want the artists to influence each other; each artist selected a panel and had no idea what the surrounding paintings would look like.
Frances involved abstract artists, miniaturists, botanical artists and watercolorists. Each panel is drastically different, although some details blend almost seamlessly.
Some styles were more realistic, while others were filled with vibrant colors. Some artists embellished their panels such as by adding bugs. Although green is a hard watercolor to match, some artists mixed almost the exact same shade, unknowingly creating a smooth transition between pieces.
Others, such as Lynne Frailing, a botanical artist, watercolorist and occasional art instructor at the NBG, used unexpected colors to challenge herself with something new.
“People were excited and interested; it was a good gathering,” she said. As a passionate gardener and art lover, this show was an “opportunity to step outside of myself.”
“I’m not the whole show,” she said, “I think it was kind of freeing for everybody.”
Frailing specifically chose a panel with just shadows instead of flowers to challenge herself to do something interesting with shading.
“What I love about this collaboration is that you can look at this as a novice, you can look at this as a painter, you can look at this as a botanical painter because all those elements exist within the variety.”
As an instructor, Frailing said the project can be an excellent educational tool for watercolorists to learn about intention and technique to see “how different styles would be adapted to the same picture … who changed the composition, the value, the colors and who made the most exciting presentation?”
She said this difference in expression is something she likes to see in her students, and she was excited to have the experience among her peers.
Some of the artists are retired, she said, which makes it “a double great program.”
“It’s exciting to still have good health and still be able to learn.”
Frailing hopes her art serves as an encouragement for young people, including her grandchildren, to create.
“I want them to know this is the touch of a hand. This is not printed. This is something that they could even do.”
The “Symphony of Susans” is on display through the end of the year. Visit Norfolk Botanical Garden for more information.