CALIFORNIA SITTING STILL

this is one of those shoots brought to you out of pure inspiration. i got together with two of my friends, floral designer amy merrick (remember this?!) and photographer chantal anderson, to bring to life these gorgeous california inspired still life shots. all three of us are wildly inspired by florals, fruits and this wonderful state, so this is a post dedicated to all of those things. hope you enjoy! here’s amy…

As a floral designer and art freak, it’s hard to not feel the pull of classic 17th century dutch master still life paintings as a source of rock solid inspiration. Since I’ve been traveling all through California, I noticed the very same sense of natural bounty that my favorite dutch painters captured also reflected in my beloved Hollywood farmers market, local flower stalls and shell shops. I couldn’t help but pay homage to the painterly still lives of the past by putting through a the rose colored glasses of a Southern California sunset.

California produce is my ultimate kryptonite as a snowbird New Yorker. Pink lemons, enormous artichokes, blood oranges, papayas, dates- a stop at the year round farmer’s market always astounds me that the most beautiful, delicious things on earth are available for purchase for just a few dollars. I love the idea of setting a big tablescape in your house of produce that celebrates the season. Look for heirloom varieties with variegated or unusual colors.

We can’t talk about the natural beauty of California without mentioning her greatest asset of all- 840 glorious miles of Pacific coastline. The ocean is California’s fairy godmother, granting her pink glows every sunset and the best beach towns in America. I have fallen so hard shell collecting as of late, both huddled over tide pools and all out splurges at local shell shops.

It’s hard to imagine that each of these little treasures was once a home, so bring that inspiration back to your place by using shells in a modern way. The dutch masters loved painting shells, so collect a variety and see how well they pair with ocean inspired graphic plants- palms, proteas and papyrus grass.

Flowers run through California like blood in the veins, the year round growing season is impossible to argue with! I created a painterly arrangement full of California’s best- ranunculus, succulent flowers, geranium leaves, kumquats and fritillaria. Spikey wild cucumbers were foraged from a hillside fence in Mt. Washington along with fan palms and bougainvillea.

Using a footed compote vase (like this one I designed in collaboration with West Elm) really amps up the old world drama, but using bright colors and a wild, asymmetrical shape keeps the whole effect throughly modern. – Amy Merrick

florals by: amy merrick – see our last collab here!
photos by: chantal anderson
model: siri thorson