Patrice’s work blooms with color, design

From scenic landscapes to vibrant florals, artists including Claude Monet, Vincent van Gogh and Georgia O’Keeffe have all used nature as a muse. Cape Region artist Lynn Patrice, aka L. Patrice, is no exception. She uses elements from nature to create colorful, nature-inspired artwork that invokes an appreciation for art, environment and nature’s beauty.

Her artwork depicts fairies, birds, fish, dogs and flower dolls that come to life through a thoughtful process of layering natural components such as petals, seeds and sprigs. The process of her artwork seems easy enough, but requires a great deal of planning and knowledge of color theory and design to result in the work coming to life just right.

She first sketches a general shape or outline of an image. Then she carefully chooses color scheme based on flowers and plant elements of each piece. Then she arranges the pieces into the desired shape.

She then takes a photograph of her art and uploads it to Adobe Creative Cloud for final touches. The amount of time each art piece varies, but digital touch-ups tend to take the longest. 

Besides fairy artwork, her flower dolls are some of Patrice’s most prominent works. Each whimsical flower doll design is as unique and enchanting as the next, and features a variety of flowers such as roses, irises and tulips. The doll’s bodies are a sketch template of her design, utilizing petals to create elegant attire styled on top of the doll templates. 

“I started doing portraits of faces, and then I started making fairies and flower dolls,” she said. “Since then I’ve done custom flower doll designs for people’s homes and children.” 

Originally Patrice’s flower dolls were focused on female figures, but since this interview she has created male counterparts to be more inclusive.

“I’ll get somebody who wants the dolls for a girl, but who will also want something for the little boys in their life,” she said. “Boys can enjoy flowers, too, so I’ve created a boy flower doll.” 

Like many artists, Patrice’s artistic passions are rooted in childhood. Growing up in Delaware, she learned at an early age the great potential of using nature as inspiration for her art.

“I got started making art with my mother when I was a little girl,” she said. “We would make hollyhock flowers and buds. It taught me that you can make things out of plants and flowers.

“I grew up in a very artsy family,” she said. “My mother studied with artist Jack Lewis, an artist well known in the Lewes and Rehoboth Beach area. They would paint together.”

After college, Patrice said she became a teacher, where she shared her experiences with her students. 

She’d spent much of her life sharing her love for nature with her students, but she wanted to find a way to connect her passion for art with her love of nature to promote a bigger message. Using elements from nature to create art seemed like the best way to combine her creative passions for a greater purpose. 

“I’d like people to get more involved with nature,” she said. “I think there’s a real joy to be found in working amongst nature. It can lift depression and inspire happiness.”

Patrice says her next dream is to publish a how-to book to guide readers through her art-making process.

“My art is like legos,” she said. “You don’t build one setup and keep it forever. You take it apart and build something different. Just for fun, people can make the flower dolls or whatever animal they choose, take a photo of it and start all over again.” 

In July, she will have the opportunity to have a spotlight gallery at the Ocean City Art League where her artwork will be one of the pieces on display. 

Patrice offers prints and greeting cards for sale on her website at www.lpatrice.com.