Elegant and exotic, Irises attract the eyes of artists throughout the years since the early Egyptian times to our days. From childhood, I couldn't stop to admire Japanese floral artworks, the famous Irises of Hiroshige till now are my favorite flowers in the world of art. During our holidays in Italy in early spring, we were surrounded by fantastic Irises all sorts and colors just everywhere. There was no way to miss a chance, and I made a few paintings with enormous splendid flowers from the garden near the house we lived in. The bush of white Irises entwined with white freesias and garden clover compiles a  kind of wonderful floral carpet. I tried to preserve some effect of the flat decorative pattern typical for Japanese ukiyoe, which I was inspired. And at the same time, I find the sense of air in the picture most important, so the main challenge was to find a balance between these two opposites.