The flower portrait series began after a Surrealism in fashion class where Ashley Marie had been sourcing copies of old masters still life paintings to use as lighting references.
Ashley Marie's Still Life Floral Photography
These two points alongside the artist's love of fine art photography brought this vibrant portfolio to life. The juxtaposition of old and new is a recurring theme for the photographer meets collage artist. And what better way than to marry two elements of beauty together in the form of beautiful faces and beautiful flowers?
Our Obsession With Beauty
The title "Flower Portraits" is to be taken at face value. As with all creative ideas, the concept emerged from subconscious ideas. However, the artist began questioning the reasons behind her desire to create these images in the first place. Why are we so obsessed with beauty?
The Fine Lines Between Beauty and Society
We live in a world that idealizes beauty and its relationship to youth; these fickle idealisms are fleeting and they wither much like flowers do. Still-life paintings of the masters derived from the need to capture beauty before beauty passed. The transience of beauty is strongly tied to Vanitas and all beauty and life inevitably meet decay and death. This ongoing series has a long future ahead with more sitters and more diversity to follow as Ashley Marie continues to explore the fine lines between beauty and society in relation to historical conventions.
You can find more of the artist's work on her Instagram page. (Info and images via Beyond Photography).
