How To Paint Roses In Oil
The art of painting roses in oil paints lies in selecting the right colours based on the particular rose that you would like to depict, based on real life or reference photography, and layering them appropriately.
Impressionist Flower Painting PLUS .
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At each point in an oil painting, it can be very easy to start doubting yourself, because of how distant it is from the finished work, but the purpose of each layer is to gradually add weight and structure to the piece, not to reflect exactly what the completed painting will look like.
Something to remember with oil paints is that it is very rare to see a pure, unmixed version of a colour out in the world, especially when it comes to plants and flowers, and this goes for the petals of your rose, too.
If you are painting a white rose, even the base white layer, without any shading, should be a little warmer than you expect it to be, with a little bit of yellow and green pigments worked into it.
Mix your paint on your paint palette in small batches to create colours with a more natural transition, and apply them in small, quick brushstrokes, which will allow the layers to dry more rapidly for a faster application of accumulating layers. This accumulation will add depth and opacity to your painting, as each individual coat of oil paint is relatively thin and watery on its own, allowing light to pass through it, and it is only with gradual addition of more colours that we get warmth and subtle detailing.
With the baseline colour applied, white for a white rose, yellow for a yellow rose, red for a red rose, and so on and so forth, you can move onto the more engaging process of adding light and shadow to the petals. This will do most of the work in giving your rose structure, and the feeling of light dispersing across its surface.
In order to create darker shadows, mix your colour with cooler pigments – a little bit of burnt umber, for example, or a touch of cobalt blue. Colour selection becomes very important here, as is the kind of mood you’d like to achieve with it.
Some white roses have underlying purplish shades, which give it a slightly blue colour at its shadows, while others are pinker, and so require blending white with a small amount of red pigment. While mixing red with a small amount of blue pigment will be appropriate to shade red roses, that same colour won’t appear natural for yellow or orange roses, which need to be mixed with red or burnt umber to achieve the desired effect. Look closely at your reference photos, mix frequently and in small amounts, and paint only when you want to add depth.
Two concepts that are important in adding the finishing touches on your rose are variety and value.
Variety is the process of adding very slightly different shades of the same colour to an oil painting in order to add interest and intrigue to a piece where it is appropriate. Adding speckling, splotching, and very small details using slightly yellower, redder, or bluer versions of the baseline colour and carefully working it in using blending, especially towards the outer curve of each petal.
Value, on the other hand, relies on a different understanding of colour theory, creating the darkest and brightest points of light on an oil painting using an application of tone – either adding white or black to a baseline paint. Adding values to a painting means adding these lighter and darker versions to very small areas as one of the final touches on a work, typically as an outline of the shapes in question, and working off of the light source that is visible in the reference photo.
Both variety and value should be used to add fine detailing, and so shouldn’t feature too heavily in the finished piece, being blended into the final layers of the painting to really balance out the piece and bring it to life. With the correct application of these effects, and a few ultimate brushstrokes to blend them into the piece, you should be left with a painting of a rose that seems to come to life right off the canvas.
Introduction to Oil Painting
Oil paint has been popular for hundreds of years and a wealth of painting traditions have built up, which can sometimes make the technical side seem overwhelming. However it is an incredibly versatile painting medium and the key is to understand the basics and use them according to your own interests.
By working from direct observation and copying, students learn how to choose colours, mix and apply them to different surfaces, using various techniques and styles.
It is possible to learn how to paint in oils and have fun!
Topics include:
- The equipment: what is and is not necessary. Art shops and sweet shops: knowing the difference
- Mark making – the basic skill of using the brush correctly. The DNA of your finished painting
- Tonal control. The critical aspect of your painting before you even get to colour
- The important attributes of colour. Temperature, saturation, transparency, etc.
- Palette management. A whole world in a limited space
- Preparing a canvas.
- Painting strategies: completing paintings both in stages and alla prima (“all at once”)
- Making studies from a variety of reference materials including photographs, prepared images and still life.
Wednesdays 4:30-7pm
1 November
Learning the difference between two basic techniques of oil painting: the “layer” method and alla prima. Learning to use a pallet knife for impasto painting. Autumn still life.
8 November
How to paint flowers alla prima. Simplification of different shapes to see the pattern. Adding new paints to find new complementary colors. Working quickly and boldly.
15 November
Christmas still life. Working on composition in preliminary sketches. Importance of good drawing. Finding tonal accuracy and proportions. Underpainting in color. How to paint glass. Learning how colour responds to changes in light.
22 November
Christmas still life: second session. Working on shapes using light and tone. Stepping back from the easel to correct mistakes.
29 November
White on white – painting unusual still life objects. Learning that white is seldom white. Possible use of the gray underlayer
6 December
Simple interior. Perspective as a key to drawing an interior. How to draw and paint rectangular objects in perspective. Composition sketches: how to use the frame. Jan Vermeer, Pieter de Hooch, Vincent van Gogh, Edward Hopper, etc
