23rd March 2021, Flowers In A Milk Bottle

Flowers have appeared in Hockney’s work throughout his career, from the still lifes of the 1960s to the vases drawn and painted in recent decades. This drawing returns to the subject in its plainest form, using an everyday container rather than an elaborate vase. The dated title follows the diary-like convention Hockney adopted for his iPad drawings, in which each image is a record of a particular day. In late March the subject also signals the turn of the season, which links it to his earlier spring series. The drawing is built from layered, luminous colour, which gives the flowers a sense of light that the print reproduces faithfully. Hockney has described the iPad as a tool that suits drawing from life because the colour is immediately available and no materials need to be prepared.