Day 3

Ailing Rose

(5x7", Oil) Price: $100.00

I painted this rose from a photo I took in our friend Nick's backyard. It was a well-formed, gorgeous bloom, except for the brown edges and spots that marred its perfection. Hence the title, 'Ailing Rose'.

I love roses, so you'll probably see a fair few of them on this page as time goes by. Elegant, imperious, romantic, and commanding. They have such history, and a history of lore spreading behind them all the way back into antiquity that makes fascinating reading. They appear as symbols in many a heraldic form, religious symbol, and warrior's banner - be it as a symbol of strength or of purity. Both are represented in the Rose's pantheon of symbology. Mind you, it's my birth flower, so I'm partial, I guess.

Anyway, I painted this rose on a 5x7" gessoed panel. The smoother tooth of the panel was a joy to paint on, but the paint itself is still drying four days later. I took it outside in the sun and photographed it - now it's back to the drying shelf for this little daub. Speaking of which, I always have a fun time painting the foliage around the blooms. Even some of the Burnt Sienna based background still shows through in spots.

So far, I seem to limit myself to about 5-8 colours on the palette while I've been painting these, and mixing from those what I need to. Painting time itself, seems to be rounding out to about two hours per painting. I used a size 4 soft Filbert brush, and size 2 Round brush to complete this piece. Filberts are my favourite brushes!

See you tomorrow,
Marianne