The work of Florence Reekie

If you noticed Florence’s portraits of two of our founders Caroline and Charlie in How to Spend It, you’ll have spotted the work of a talented portraitist. Florence possesses the ability to completely capture a person’s energy, body language, and character through her art and yet portraiture isn’t even her primary focus. 

Born and raised in the highlands of Scotland, Florence is largely self-taught. “I’ve always been interested in developing ideas around perception, iconography and coding within compositions while experimenting with the materiality of paint,” she tells us. Having assisted some of the biggest artists in the world in the past, she now only creates her own pieces, focussing on bodies of work that are true representations of her passions. She uses oil paints and works onto materials (silks, velvets, cottons and more), giving them a second life in the most wonderful of ways. 

“Historically, painters have used drapery as a means of bringing being and movement into compositions. So in my work, I like to use materials to convey this, only alluding to the interaction that might be happening. That’s how I like to tackle the more complicated themes within some of my pieces,” she explains. In the last years, she’s moved from working purely on canvas, to bringing this addition of texture through materials, as a representation on her desire to upcycle materials but also to create a point of difference in her work, adding to the story-telling taking place within each of her pieces. “I have a deep interest in creating contemporary scenes that are a take on classical impressions and techniques,” she explains. 

Florence’s work is unusual, drawing inspiration from her travels all over the world, her education at fashion and art school, her childhood in the vast depths of the Scottish mountains, classical artists and the movement that materials and texture bring – in lots of different ways. Looking forward, Florence is creating a new body of work for 2025 to be showcased in both solo and joint shows.