Flowers have been used as symbols for centuries, offering a way to convey feelings and ideas without words. This form of communication became especially popular during the Victorian era, when the meanings associated with different plants allowed people to express emotions that could not always be discussed openly. Today, floral imagery is often associated with beauty, strength, resilience, and the ability to overcome difficult circumstances. Some plants survive in harsh environments, while others go through a cycle of blooming each year before returning to life once again.
Artist Jess Currier explores this symbolism through her work. She combines flowers with female portraiture, creating images in which the natural beauty of plants becomes intertwined with the inner strength of the human spirit. Her paintings serve as a reminder of human resilience and the ability to discover beauty even during challenging moments in life.
Female Portraits Hidden Behind Flowers
Jess Currier’s dreamy oil paintings portray women with expressive, thoughtful gazes. They appear as though they have just realized something important or are experiencing a moment of inner transformation. Their emotions become even more powerful through the flowers that the artist incorporates into her compositions.
Large blossoms partially obscure the women’s faces, but never conceal them completely. Currier overlays the flowers onto the skin with a translucent effect, allowing human features to remain visible beneath the petals. This technique erases the boundary between the person and the plant: the flowers become an extension of the figures themselves and reflect their inner states.
As a result, the artist’s paintings combine melancholy with hope. Here, floral imagery represents not fragility but the ability to recover, change, and continue moving forward. The women in her paintings appear strong and resilient.
“In my darkest moments, I’ve returned to flowers as symbols of resilience,” Currier said in a 2025 interview with My Modern Met. “Of making the choice, again and again, to keep living, to keep finding beauty even when we know it’s fleeting.”
Fans of Jess Currier’s work can also try learning her artistic techniques. The artist offers online courses and has created two programs—Intro to Oil Painting and her newer course, Expressive Portraits in Oil. According to Currier, her courses guide students from the foundations of oil painting toward a more personal and expressive approach while helping them develop technical skills, confidence, and a deeper connection with their own creative work.
