Kelly Leahy Radding
She Loves the Sun, 2021
watercolor on vellum
8 x 10 inches

Kelly Leahy Radding’s painting entitled, “She Loves the Sun” welcomes us into seasonal change from Spring to Summer.  The Buttercup’s elegant plant posture with its elongated stem and simplicity in leaf construction, speaks to the season of summer as we shed our layers and receive and devour the warmth of the sun.  Although it typically grows in dense patches, Radding’s composes the plant as a singular force, a symbol of the sun and its glory.  Through this composition she elevates its status as a plant, often categorized as a weed for the speed it which is grows and spreads, here, reminiscent of Redouté’s 19th century botanical portraiture, referencing his commissioned work in his Les Liliacées, documenting the plants in Josephine Bonaparte’s garden.  This work includes over 500 plants in this classical style combining scientific specificity and a definitive voice in style of composition, thereafter setting the standard for botanical portraiture for future centuries of painters.