Cascading Roses, Watercolor

Cascading Roses, Watercolor
9 x 12 Watercolor
by Pat Fiorello

 

I have painted these roses before in oil but decided to try them in watercolor today.

My approach was to paint the overall shape of the cluster of  flowers wet into wet to keep them light and soft. Once they dried, I wet the background and painted that wet into wet also, but rather than pushing paint into water on the paper, I wet the background with a juicy wash of quinacridone gold, then pushed other greens into that while wet so it would stay dark and soft. Then I came back and worked further on the form of the flowers to give them some depth and also softened some edges so they would integrate into the background.

Then the most important part- STOP!  Don't overdo it. Nothing is beautiful as the fresh washes so I have to stop myself before slipping into that literal mind and trying to add more specific detail.

Here's the original reference photo I took in France and the oil painting version I did a few weeks ago.