Title: Irises by the Lake
Artist: Sara Rae
Medium and Materials: Oil on linen canvas
Dimensions: 18" x 14"
Overview
Irises by the Lake is a luminous, uplifting interior landscape that pairs the intimacy of a fresh floral still life with the openness of a lake-house view. Violet and golden-yellow irises glow in morning light, while a bright window view brings in the feeling of breeze, water, and summer calm. The result is a colorful, light-filled work with strong decorative presence and an inviting sense of place.
Collector Description
In this vertical 18" x 14" linen canvas, Sara Rae places the viewer inside a sunlit lake cottage, looking past a casual iris arrangement toward a wide, open horizon. A clear glass jar rests on a warm wooden table in the foreground, holding shallow water and long green stems that twist and refract through the glass.
The bouquet brings vivid energy to the scene. Purple irises sweep across the upper left in shades of plum, violet, and deep periwinkle, accented by flashes of marigold yellow. On the right, larger ruffled blooms in ochre, cadmium orange, and golden yellow add warmth, balance, and visual richness.
Beyond the flowers, the multi-pane window opens to a turquoise lake bordered by soft green pines and distant hills. A cream curtain on the right catches the light with subtle lavender and peach reflections. Rae’s layered oil paint, confident color handling, and expressive brushwork turn this domestic moment into a bright, peaceful focal point for a home or collection.
Key Visual Features
- Style: Contemporary Impressionism with a lyrical interior-landscape sensibility.
- Composition: A vertical portrait format combines a close floral arrangement with a window-framed lake view, creating depth from tabletop to distant horizon.
- Focal Point: The meeting of golden-yellow iris petals, dark purple blooms, and the clear glass jar at the center of the composition.
- Color Palette: Plum purple, violet, marigold yellow, cadmium orange, turquoise blue, warm ochre, and soft cream.
- Mood and Light: Bright morning window light creates a fresh, breezy, and peaceful summer atmosphere.
Why It Stands Out
- Textural Appeal: Thick, expressive oil brushwork gives the iris petals dimension and movement, while softer strokes create the curtain, water, and distant view.
- Sense of Depth: The foreground table, transparent glass, saturated flowers, open lake view, and distant hills create a layered scene that feels spacious and immersive.
- Collecting Appeal: Its vivid floral subject, lake-house atmosphere, and intimate scale make it a strong choice for a bedroom, study, breakfast nook, gallery wall, or bright living space.
Shipping / Pickup: Shipping is available, with items securely packaged in professional archival materials, insured, and shipped globally; complimentary local pickup is also available at our 23 North Main Street, Concord, NH gallery.
