Henri Matisse on Flowers: An Artist Reflects

Henri Matisse once said, “There are always flowers for those who want to see them.” As a contemporary flower artist who creates large-scale acrylic flower paintings, and as a writer who has always loved inspirational quotes, I often consider these words when I pick up my brush.

The thought comes from Matisse’s 1947 artist’s book Jazz, where he reflected on finding joy in the sky, trees and flowers. Perhaps that is why his words resonate with me. They are about flowers, but they are also about how we choose to move through the world.

Looking Is Not the Same as Seeing

Painting has taught me that looking is not the same as seeing. We pass by flowers every day—in gardens, on roadsides, in windows, in grocery stores, and even in our own homes—but how often do we pause to really notice them? Matisse’s words speak to this choice. It’s not about whether flowers exist, but whether we allow ourselves to see them.

In my Kelowna, BC art studio, flowers are more than just subjects. The begonias, peonies, dahlias, hydrangeas, and ranunculus I paint are also my teachers. Each petal offers me a lesson to slow down and look more closely. And to pay attention—to light, to colour, to form, and even to how I’m feeling. Every shadow I layer and every hue I mix becomes part of an almost meditative process that draws me into the moment and helps me reconnect with what’s simple, beautiful, and most important in life.

Working on a large scale deepens that experience for me. When a single flower fills a canvas, the small details become difficult to overlook—the curve of a petal, the shift from light into shadow, or a subtle change in colour. In a way, my flower paintings ask viewers to do exactly what Matisse’s words suggest: pause long enough to see something you might otherwise pass by.

I think this is one of the things I have come to appreciate most about painting flowers. The longer I study a bloom, the more there is to see. Colours appear where I hadn’t noticed them before. A petal that first seemed white contains hints of pink, blue, yellow, violet, orange, or green. Shadows reveal shapes, depth, and colours of their own. What initially appears simple becomes more complex when I give it my full attention.

Why I Paint Flowers

Why flowers? Because they remind me that life is precious and fleeting. Flowers bloom, then fade. Since they don’t last, their impermanence is part of their wonder. They can teach us to appreciate things as they are right now.

In my flower paintings, I feel as though I’m capturing a fleeting moment—one that would otherwise be missed—and giving it a permanence on canvas, making it available to others. Perhaps that is one of the reasons I continue to return to flowers after so many years of painting them. There is always something new to notice.

And perhaps that is also why flowers have remained such an enduring subject in art. We recognize them immediately, yet every artist—and every viewer—can see something different in them. For me, they have become a way of exploring light, colour, form, and the quiet beauty that is so easy to overlook in our everyday lives.

“It’s not about whether flowers exist, but whether we allow ourselves to see them.”

— Laurie Koss

Seeing the Flowers in Everyday Life

You don’t need to be a flower painter to “see the flowers.” You can go for a walk and stop to look at the small details in a garden bloom. You can treat yourself to a bouquet, just because. You can take a photo of a beautiful blossom. And you can allow these moments to slow you down and reconnect you with what matters.

Matisse’s quote is not just a statement—it’s an invitation. To a way of life. To the idea that we can open our eyes and hearts to the beauty that surrounds us, and not just look, but really see.

There are always flowers for those who want to see them—on the canvas, in nature, and in life.

Thank you for reading. If you’d like to see my latest original flower paintings, you can browse my gallery. And if a flower moment has brightened your day recently, I’d love to hear about it.

Laurie Koss is a Canadian contemporary flower artist based in Kelowna, BC, and a Senior Member of the Federation of Canadian Artists (SFCA). Her large-scale acrylic-on-canvas flower paintings have been featured on Canada Post stamps and a Royal Canadian Mint collector coin. She also shares her expertise about light in Episode 8 of her Responding to Art series on YouTube.