A rose for a Rose...
Peace, Rose
2 1/2" x 3 1/2" (ATC size)
Daniel Smith "Color Map" watercolors
Lanaquarelle hot press 140lb watercolor paper
Photo reference by Faafil from WetCanvas.com.
On impulse this afternoon I decided to send an ATC to my friend Rose from WetCanvas. She organized the first ATC swap that I participated in there, squeezed me in after the list was closed and then due to my usual problems with time, memory and organization, I sent her card last. I did a rose for her. It turned out the best rose I'd ever done.
So today I got into the mood to do one for her again and once again slowed down, took my time with it, tried all the tricks from the books I've read and videos I've seen and better artists I've studied... and all the tricks worked. So now this one's the best rose I've ever done. Even though some people might vote for Blue Rose on DeviantART.com, which is sort of up there with it, this one's watercolor and watercolor is far more difficult. I also used a lot of techniques that are hard to control and managed to control them this time to get something realistic, which was great.
So after weeks of goofing around sketching, a spontaneous serious little painting. I hope she likes it. It's already packed up in its envelope and stamped, and I think it looks even better in person. The colors really glow because they were glazed or mingled, not mixed on the palette, especially on the rose. Those tricks really do work.
Real watercolorists are probably laughing at this post, but maybe indulgently remembering those same moments of discovery. Anyway, enjoy.