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There’s an abundance that defines artist Sam Michelle’s paintings; armfuls of hydrangeas collapsing over the edge of a vase; bouncy wisteria moving within the frame; and dahlias, perfectly paired with whispering foliage.
But the lushness we see on the canvas actually begins long before oil paint is squeezed from the tube.
In many ways, Sam paints twice.
The first painting happens outside, in her coastal cottage garden in Bling Bright, where Sam has planted all of her favourite flowers to paint: hydrangeas, dahlias, scabiosa, roses, delphiniums, wisteria, and more.
‘I’ve enjoyed dividing my plants and moving things around to create better contrasts in texture, leaf shape and colour harmony,’ she says.
Each morning Sam spends at least an hour tending to her growing garden. The space is layered, abundant, and ‘slightly wild’, though shaped by her artist’s eye. It’s physical, grounding work and it’s here that the compositions begin to take shape.
‘I prepare the soil… I prepare the canvas,’ she says. ‘Both require patience and trust.’
Back in the studio, her second painting unfolds — this one with paint and brush. Sam works in oil, often in an alla prima style (wet-on-wet). She sets up still life vignettes using flowers cut directly from her garden, arranging them in vessels she’s collected over the years.
Flowers have long been Sam’s inspiration, but over time their meaning has deepened. While earlier works explored colour and form, now her exhibitions act almost as memoir.
Her latest exhibition An Artist’s Garden (on now at Martin Browne Contemporary), showcases her garden bounty through a lens of wellbeing, patience and hope — qualities cultivated slowly in the garden and in the studio.
‘Gardening has made me a better painter,’ explains Sam. ‘It has taught me rhythm, seasons of growth (exhibition preparation), rest (post exhibition) and renewal (planning and learning).
‘An Artist’s Garden feels like a true integration of my life and work.’
An Artist’s Garden
Martin Browne Contemporary
March 5 – March 28, 2026
