Foliate and Floral Portraits

The 'Green Man' is a face surrounded by or hiding in leaves: a timeless symbol of the endless cycles of rebirth, regrowth and regreening in nature. 

I tend to prefer the non-gendered, non-human, non-colour, non-species-specific term ‘foliate/floral portrait’, but in some form or other the spirit of the ‘Green Man’ presides over most of my artwork, even when not pictured directly. 

Today, it has an urgent ecological relevance in the context of the climate emergency and symbolises our interconnectedness and dependence on plants. I have explored foliate face imagery in a range of mediums, in two and three dimensions, referencing famous and non-famous faces, as well as animals and pets (especially those having floral names).

Eric Idle
Eric Idle foliate portrait, one of numerous portraits referencing Cambridge Alumni, painted onto a Giraffe statue for a public art trail in Cambridge, 2023. Acrylics on fibreglass.

Forget Me Not
Forget Me Not, coloured pencil and acrylic on paper, 2026

Foliate face symbolism works on multiple levels: referencing nature, ecology and the climate crisis, illustrating our interconnectedness with plants, celebrating diversity and inclusivity, and (perhaps most importantly) challenging our preconceptions of feminine, masculine, man, woman, human, old, young, black, white, transcending all these boundaries and allowing beauty to blossom without restriction. Floral portraits link specifically with the rich flower symbolism of LGBTQ+ Pride, hence the above coloured pencil and acrylic portrait incorporates forget-me-not, lavender, rose, pansy and violet. A bleeding heart flower evokes the pain and passion of Transgender people throughout human history. Purple has long been a powerfully symbolic colour and is particularly meaningful in the LGBTQ+ context. Inclusivity is an organic thing that cannot simply be created at will. Instead, we must cultivate and nurture it like a beautiful garden.




Autumn Fox foliate portrait

Below: Green Man-Moth, surreal-foliate-face-scape painted onto an elephant statue, 2023

Behind the scenes film:


Greta Thunberg
Greta, foliate portrait, 2022. Coloured pencil, A3

Giant wall-mounted Green Man sculpted out of recycled plastic drinking straws, commissioned by Akeman Inns as part of the Ban the Straw campaign. 2017


Jasmine the cat, floral portrait, coloured pencil and acrylic, A3. 2023
Jasmine

Willow the Wolfhound, foliate portrait, coloured pencil, 2023. A3
Willow the Wolfhound