Artist in Full Bloom

One look at one of Lulie Wallace’s paintings and two things will happen. First, you’ll smile (at the very least on the inside). Next, you’ll be out the door to the nearest florist in search of a colorful bouquet of flowers.

Flowers: That’s mostly what Lulie Wallace paints. Her tableaus of colorful pom-pom blooms and vibrant firework-like bursts of petals barely can be contained on canvas. Her pieces are like intravenous injections of pure sunshine, comforting and uplifting all at once. In fact, that’s the greatest compliment Lulie has ever received with regard to her work: “This woman, who I’d never met before in my life, said to me, ‘These are incredibly uplifting!’” she says. For Lulie, that’s kind of the point.

By her own admission, Lulie is “a fairly loud, friendly person.” She views her colorful and slightly textural pieces as an extension of her personality. She loves that people can’t help but smile when they see her work, especially because her favorite part about being an artist is that her pieces become a part of someone else’s life. A very, very cheerful part.

It makes sense, too, that someone with so much exuberance would focus her evident talent on flowers. As Lulie points out, for her, they are the perfect vehicle to explore colors, shapes and patterns. And just like flowers, each piece is different. Some canvases include pitchers, vases and various tablescapes, but Lulie really prefers the flowers themselves.

When she first started painting professionally at Redux, Lulie used to hop over to Tiger Lily for a fresh bouquet every week. She quickly discovered that while her imagination went a mile a minute, the seasons and their floral progeny didn’t. These days Lulie spends hours scanning magazines and the web for arrangements that catch her eye. She also gets commissioned to paint bride’s wedding bouquets, which for her, is always fun due to the creativity inherent in “bridal bouquets these days.”

Lulie favors organic, chicly untidy arrangements instead of perfectly round sprays. As with most things, the less perfect the subject, the more beautiful and visually interesting the finished product. Though the bouquets themselves are beautiful, it’s Lulie’s use of color that really makes her paintings unique. Deep indigos mix with yellow ochres and peachy pinks. Lulie is unafraid of combining rich hues like turquoise and magenta with equally decadent spring and emerald greens.

The result isn’t garish—far from it. Instead, Lulie’s pieces are thoughtful palettes of cheerful brights playing next to tasteful neutrals. In the end, the finished product is as welcome in any room as a freshly picked bouquet—though Lulie’s paintings will certainly last longer.

LulieWallace.com

Story by: Annabel Jones