Frangipani Offering

A canang sari — the small daily offering left on doorsteps, dashboards and shrine steps across the island every morning. Rai paints them life-size, which is rarer than it sounds; most flower paintings enlarge. The tray is dyed palm-leaf rather than the usual green banana leaf, which is why the whole picture sits in the rose register.

Gouache lets him keep the petals matte and slightly chalky, close to how frangipani actually looks an hour after it is picked, when the white has begun to go cream at the edges.

Supplied framed in a simple teak float frame under glass, ready to hang.