The Flower Targets are decorative, flat, floral, minimal, meticulous, and groovy. The targets on wood are centered on square panels, with the petals of the flowers growing out of the largest circle, pressing up to the outer edge of the support. The colors shift and alternate from darker, more saturated hues in the center, to gradually become lighter on the outside of the image. This optical evolution creates a viewing experience that is surprisingly slow, considering how simple the image at first appears. The flowers are precisely drawn in pencil with a compass and ruler. The paint is opaque, flat, and creamy, carefully applied to the plywood panel after it is coated with clear matte medium. The grain of the wood is left to be itself, or an image of itself, a familiar and engaging surface that is simultaneously natural and man-made. The flower targets connect to both Pop and Color Field painting, as in Andy Warhol's flowers and Kenneth Noland's targets. My childhood exposure to west coast psychedelic posters and Flower Power are inimitable influences. The resulting work is both High and Low, contemplative geometric abstraction and eye candy for everyone.

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© Laura Sue Phillips 2009