Painting flowers of any kind, especially roses, are a huge challenge to me as I tend to see so much detail when I paint that flowers are tougher than a landscape for me. The shapes are so complex but I have found a way to deal with them now that allows me so much freedom of expression. I have discovered the wonderful world of textured surfaces on panels I prepare myself. This has allowed me to introduce tons of interesting textures to the florals in such a way that I can be free to explore and not “think” so much as I paint. I never thought I would enjoy doing them so much! Take a look at my latest “Spanish Reds” which are a combination of 3 small 6×6 paintings when placed side by side are called a “triptych”.
Also, look at “Double Delight” as it has lots of texture and variation of color. Doing these roses was exciting and challenging because I had to apply the paint light to dark instead of dark to light on the petals to keep the white from picking up the pinks.