Tag Archives: Floral
Rose Petals VIII
Rose Petals VII
Mr. Katayama’s Peonies
I received a lovely gift from a friend. Her father was a well loved gardener and upon his passing she found homes for many of the beautiful plants he had tenderly cared for. Not only do I have several of his beauty berry bushes and white tree peonies, but this glorious purple tree peony. I send my friend a photo of it blooming every year. What I really want is to do a painting for her. To that end I’ve been shooting it to see what I come up with as reference material – some of them stand up quite well as purely photographs. I’ve put them together here to see which ones she would prefer to have translated into a painting.
Above are very traditional ways of handling florals. A bloom in a vase allows you to isolate the form more clearly and the vase can provide a secondary subject matter as well as a base for the flower. I could envision loosing the vase entirely in the image directly above and continuing on with the grey patterned background in a drippy, painterly way.
The images below do obscure the vase and are shot from angles less typically used for paintings but are well suited for photography. These shots are more about light and lines and form and less a “portrait” of the flower and opens the door to elements of abstraction and it is fine that these flowers seem to be floating in space.
Both groups would work well for a painting, I think it’s a matter of traditional or contemporary taste. What do you think?
Rose Petals V
Painting Rose Petals V
A loose outline in hot pink.
Blocking in some mid-tones.
Trying out a few highlights early on.
Trying to create a swirling action.
Icing the cake.
Paying attention to building up the volume of the center head of the rose.
I hate to leave it here, but I’m going to have to come back to it tomorrow to pump up the Fragonard factor – damn these short days!
Day 2
A little more blending and refining and a swirly signature.
Rose Petals IV
Rosebud I
Painting Rosebud I
Today was the first day I had to turn the heat on, painting this little ( 4 x 4″) rose bud in the cool morning fog.
I painted out a loose gestural outline of the rose on a prepared pink ground.
I blocked in some major highlights and shadows with color.
I blended the tones in the base of the rose and built up the highlights , curving my brush stokes to echo the shape of the petals.
I played up the color reflecting in the shadows which helped to develop a sense of volume and refined the details until the point where I felt there was a balance between lights and darks, angles and form, depth and volume, detail and negative space. A lot going on in 4 square inches!
Hybrid Tea Rose I
Rose Mandala IV
Hybrid Tea Rose I
Fresh Rose
It’s like a breath of fresh air to whip up a little rose painting after laboring on a larger work!
Here is how Rose Mandala IV came together – with only a few mishaps along the way.
Opps! Easels often have an adjustable top bar that secures the painting in place but with a painting this small (6 x 6″), I just rest it precariously on the edge and an unexpected jiggle or vigorous brush strokes can send it tumbling. I was relieved it landed “peanut butter side up”!
You’d think I’d have learned my lesson the first time round but not too many minutes later the painting was on it’s second tumble but I caught it quick with the side of my gloved hand. Not the technique I was going for.
Quick – take it off the easel!