I always think of February as a time for roses. I guess it could be that Valentine's Day is on the 14th. Here in the Pacific Northwest (where I live) roses still have a few months to wait before the sun comes out to give them the exposure they need to bloom. But I do love roses and I love to paint them.
This pretty pink rosebud was painted for Lenora, my SWAP partner. SWAP stands for Sharing With Artist Partners, an international group of artists who share their watercolors with each other quarterly.
I was pleased with the results of this 5x7 painting. As with most of my watercolors, I prefer to paint without a drawing and work out the shapes with my paintbrush as I paint. For this painting I started with the background. I wanted a cooler background so I could play up the warm backlit leaves in the foreground. I used a mixture of Ultramarine Turquoise and New Gamboge for the green background color charged with Carbazole Violet for the darks around and behind the rosebud.
About the rain drops… There are several prestigious rose gardens in the Seattle area. Last year I planned several “outings” to photograph roses and when the day arrived it was raining again and again….yep…that’s Seattle! So after 3 tries I went anyway. Got my umbrella out to protect my camera and came home with a ton of Raindrops on Roses photos.
Let me know if you like this one.
This pretty pink rosebud was painted for Lenora, my SWAP partner. SWAP stands for Sharing With Artist Partners, an international group of artists who share their watercolors with each other quarterly.
I was pleased with the results of this 5x7 painting. As with most of my watercolors, I prefer to paint without a drawing and work out the shapes with my paintbrush as I paint. For this painting I started with the background. I wanted a cooler background so I could play up the warm backlit leaves in the foreground. I used a mixture of Ultramarine Turquoise and New Gamboge for the green background color charged with Carbazole Violet for the darks around and behind the rosebud.
About the rain drops… There are several prestigious rose gardens in the Seattle area. Last year I planned several “outings” to photograph roses and when the day arrived it was raining again and again….yep…that’s Seattle! So after 3 tries I went anyway. Got my umbrella out to protect my camera and came home with a ton of Raindrops on Roses photos.
Let me know if you like this one.
SUSIE
