Air Plant Paintings because my Tillandsia Ionantha Bloomed

30 June 2024 | Life in Sketches, My Artwork

I have created some air plant paintings recently, so if you’re looking for some air plant inspired art then you’ve come to the right place. After three years and eight months of nurture, something wonderful happened – my Tillandsia decided to bloom and produce flowers. And as far as nature goes, it really is one of the most amazing things I’ve seen unfold, so it inspired me to get creative.

Air plant background

It has been somewhat of a steep learning curve over the last two weeks. There has been a lot of googling.

It all started a couple of weeks ago when I noticed that my air plant was turning a little pink. Now – he’s done this before in summertime, just goes a little bit pink, so originally I thought nothing of it. However, within a week he was mostly pink. Ok, he’s never done that before – to the Google!

I discovered to my amazement and surprise that this wasn’t just his normal summer sun tan – but that he was most likely getting ready (psyching himself up) to bloom. And so I peeked in between his centre foliage, and there were three purple things looking back at me.

I’ve had him so long that I only vaguely remembered that air plants flower. Just got so used to the spiky, furry, green thing chilling out on my bathroom windowsill. The spiky, furry, green thing that I give a bath to week-in week-out. I absent-mindedly assumed that he would always be that way. Watching his rapid transformation has therefore been somewhat surreal.

And when I say rapid, I mean rapid. Blink and you miss it – he was only in full bloom for one day.

Aristotle’s philosophy

This whole thing has been making me think of Aristotle’s theory that everything strives towards fulfilling or exhibiting a natural function. I bet he was talking about air plants. My air plant has spent days, weeks, months, years preparing for his one special day. And that one special day was Wednesday 26th June 2024. A day of beauty and radiance.

Photographs of my air plant in bloom

When you see these photos, hopefully you’ll understand why I’ve been feeling so inspired.

This was him last weekend, those three purple things I mentioned:

Photograph looking down into the centre of an air plant in bloom. The photo was used as inspiration for air plant paintings by Ruth Burton Artist.

I can’t get over his pink leaves – I’ve never seen anyone wear pink so well, it looks really good on him.

The purple things grew very fast – these are his inflorescence forming:

Photograph of a Tillandsia Ionantha air plant in bloom. The photo was used as inspiration for air plant paintings by Ruth Burton Artist.

And this is him on the morning of his special, magical day:

Photograph of an air plant in full bloom. The photo was used as inspiration for air plant paintings by Ruth Burton Artist.
Close up photograph of Tillandsia Ionantha flowers in full bloom. The photo was used as inspiration for air plant paintings by Ruth Burton Artist.

How does he even know how to do that? He’s so clever. He’s just perfect.

And I feel very proud of him for achieving three flower stalks too. That is so aesthetically pleasing.

Sketchy scribbles

On to the air plant paintings.

I experimented with a few different art materials – watercolours, acrylics, various pens, pencils and crayons.

I was desperate to ‘draw from life’, and I knew time was of the essence so here we are painting together on Wednesday night:

Photograph of blooming Tillandsia Ionantha with art materials next to one of the air plant watercolour paintings by Ruth Burton Artist.
A watercolour sketch painting of an air plant in bloom by Ruth Burton Artist.

Then I spent the next couple of evenings painting and drawing from photos and memory, only had time for a few sketches but it was a fun way to unwind:

A watercolour and pen sketch painting of an air plant in bloom by Ruth Burton Artist.
A sketch of an air plant in bloom created using watercolour pens by Ruth Burton Artist.
A sketch of a flowering Tillandsia Ionantha air plant in bloom created using pens, pencils and crayons by Ruth Burton Artist.

Then a few more involved pieces this weekend.

This first was created using Brusho powder and a spray bottle of water to lay down a background. When that was dry, I used watercolour paints for the air plant.

A watercolour painting of a Tillandsia Ionantha in bloom with a background created from Brusho powder by Ruth Burton Artist.

This second painting is done with acrylics and a flat brush. I love how bright and airy the colours are here, reflecting his bright and airy personality:

An acrylic painting of a Tillandsia Ionantha air plant in bloom in a glass dish by Ruth Burton Artist.

So colourful! I’ve seen all colours of the rainbow in him at one point or another. Which got me onto this next acrylic painting:

A colourful abstract acrylic painting of an air plant by Ruth Burton Artist.

I wanted to emphasise the colours because I really can’t tell you enough just how vibrant he has looked while in bloom. Therefore, this last one is an abstraction of all the colours he has demonstrated over the last week.

Homage to an air plant

These air plant paintings and artworks are my tribute to the spectacular display I have been lucky enough to experience over the last couple of weeks. I wanted to celebrate his ‘once in a lifetime’ bloom by making some art, so I hope you have enjoyed this homage.

Photograph of an air plant blooming, on a wooden table against soft lighting.

I would thoroughly recommend getting an air plant. They are very loving little creatures, and if you look after them, they will reward you with a very beautiful gift.

What can we learn from air plants then? Maybe that sometimes you need to be patient in order for something magical to happen.

Silhouette photograph of an air plant after blooming, with one inflorescence still flowering.

What a week!