White Rose 4

A rose is a rose is a rose... I seem to have roses on the mind lately. They are a great shape to play with, endless opportunities to explore color and structure. This little study was done in a color-spot-by color-spot approach, a technique I was introduced to in the early 90's when I took a 5 day workshop with a colorist who studied with the late great Henry Henche. Since then I have noticed that my favorite painters were either Henche students at one time, or come from that tradition. The spot by spot approach requires that you constantly judge color relationships, by color temperature, value, and saturation or intensity. It also involves a lot of exacting color mixing, which in some ways is better suited to oils, since acrylics dry fast. I've been experimenting with Golden OPEN Acrylics and mediums lately, they dry up to 10 times slower than the regular Heavy Body Acrylics. I may paint more roses with oils just to compare. Regardless of the medium, painting a white rose against a white background is a great way to discover spots of lovely, neutral colors lurking everywhere.

White Rose 4

6x6 Acrylic on Canvas

Peachy Rose

We are nearing a finale with the seemingly neverending book project, it has already gone thru its first set of major revisions, (way less text and bigger images) and I expect minor things like punctuation finessing from here on in. I see light at the end of the tunnel!

This weekend I'm teaching a two day workshop called "Fast and Fearless Fruit" on the North Fork of Long Island, way out there in a beautiful town called Greenport. The focus will be on technique and translating value to color, rather than on drawing, using very simple shapes. The best way for me to practice for demo-ing is to paint something with a complex form in 15 minute segments, using big brushes. Roses make a perfect subject for this exercise. I set up a white rose on a white background in my studio and did a slew of quick studies, using various color combinations...here's one.

Peachy Rose

Acrylic on Canvas 6x6"

Yellow Rose

A rose is a rose is a rose...

that elegant simplicity of a rose in bloom is so alluring. Yet is there anything more challenging to paint? The tendancy is to paint every single petal, accounting for the layers and layers of lush fullness that makes the rose so voluptuous. However in approaching it that way, one can quickly find themselves on a slippery slope of painting every petal and eliminating all the "magic" that struck us upon first glimpse. This is one of the many challenges of painting such an exquisite, complex, masterfully designed form. Implying the complexity but painting the simplicity and the drama ... not so easy.

My husband bought me a dozen yellow roses for my recent birthday. One of them stood out as being so "perfect" in its structure and design, so "architectural", that I decided to bring it to class and have my students paint it. What added to the challenge was that it was set against a very light backround, with little contrast to "fall back on". When everyone left, I pulled out the paints and went at it too.

Yellow Rose Acrylic on Board 10x10

If you are interested in purchasing, contact me at: patti@mollicastudio.com