Day 22 - 30 Paintings in 30 days Jan 2014 - Scentimental Floribunda

My favorite flower - Rose!! This rose is from my front yard, I had clicked a picture of it some time back and bookmarked it for painting. Finally, I got to it this morning... after painting a flower yesterday, I was in a mood of Roses and that too in watercolor. This type of Rose is called Scentimental Floribunda. Although it is called "Scentimental" it has very mild fragrance, at least compared to the roses in India. But the color is just phenomenal!! A newly blossomed flower has very strong Red and Yellow color. But as it grows, the yellow and Red fade away - it is wonderful to watch different phases of its growth. The flower I have painted is middle aged - the color has faded a little bit, but still is in full glory. The roses grow in bunches of 5 or 7 on one single branch - probably that's the reason it is categorized as Floribunda.
Looking at the petals it feels like the flower is doing a Flamenco Dance!!

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Scentimental Floribunda - 6 x 8 inches, Watercolor on Arches Paper

Dew Drops Dream - SOLD

I am dreaming... Early morning as I stepped out in the garden, I felt a refreshing breath. The air was filled with a combination of fragrance from roses and morning mist. I wondered where all the roses are, couldn't see a thing in the mist! As I walked in the direction of the fragrance, suddenly SURPRISE SURPRISE !!.... I was greeted by this beautiful Red Rose bud on my path. I admired the dew drops on it. Extended my arms to bring the Rose bud near me to see the dew drops closely. OH NO!.. a thorn pricked me on my finger and I was AWAKE. The garden quickly vanished from my thoughts and I hurried to get ready for a full working day.

But here is the Rose bud of my dream! Isn’t it beautiful?
 

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Dew Drops Dream - 5x7 inches, Oil on Canvas Panel

SOLD

This time I made sure to take pictures of my process:
Below is Stage 1 - the underpainting...

Dew Drops Dream - 5x7 inches, STAGE 1

 Next is Stage 2 - adding local colors

Dew Drops Dream - 5x7 inches, STAGE 2

 Stage 3 - Refining and adding variations to stage 2.

Dew Drops Dream - 5x7 inches, STAGE 3

Stage 4 is the final stage - adding more variations, highlights, I added the dew drops in this stage. See the very first picture of the final painting.

Rose

I painted this as part of the project for teaching Foundation Oil painting class for Adults which started yesterday!
I enjoyed using brushes only and with Winsor & Newton Artisan Water Mixable Oil and very limited palette: Cadmium Yellow Pale Hue, Permanent Alizarin Crimson, French Ultramarine, Phthalo Green (BS), Yellow Ochre, Titanium White.
The painting is ready to hang, no frame required!

Rose - 12x12 inches on Gallery Wrapped canvas



Rose - sideview




Rose - sideview



Life is Wonderful

Looking at this fresh rose bud, I remember the quote by Albert Einstein:
“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.”

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Life is Wonderful - 8x10 inches, Oil on Canvas Panel