Fearless Friday, Pink Roses

the Painted Apron

5 years ago

I know I’ve been on a floral kick lately,

but I promise I’m working on some landscapes and other stuff

I hope to share with you soon

These roses were inspired by a MacKenzie-Childs floral rug

And a large bud painted on the wall in their catalog

I started by doing some strokes of the main flowers center

Continuing to add until the shape was loosely defined

Next I painted in a few leaf forms to help me determine where I wanted to put the next bloom

Next came the third bloom to balance the composition

I painted the background next so I could paint more stems and leaves on top after it dried

The background center left side of the painting was purposely painted darker

Usually towards the completion of a painting I get so focused, I stop taking pictures {sorry!}

I kept adding layers of color in all areas of the painting until all of a sudden, it felt done

I darkened the background on the right to make the bloom on the lower right come forward a little as well as emphasizing the large center bloom

The bloom on the lower left was painted with darker tones with a lighter background to recede and not compete with the other blooms

Only a few leaves were detailed, to draw the eye into the painting and create the main focus, the large center bloom

“Pink Roses” 9 x 12″ watercolor on paper

It’s very important to have a focal point in your paintings, and purposely draw the viewer’s eye to it by creating the most contrast of lights and darks in that area

If the whole painting has the same contrasts, you loose the drama as well as the focal point, and the viewer will be bored or confused

In this marker drawing below, you see the pink and yellow roses, but your eye is drawn to the large purple rose at the top because that is where the most contrast is

Remember too, it is important not to put your focal point dead center of your painting, you want it off set a little, left or right, high or low, so the viewer will be guided through the entire painting

You can read more about the Focal Point and Rule of Thirds here