Friday, January 25, 2013

25 A Rose is a Rose

Diane Mannion, 25 A Rose is a Rose, 8x10" o/c
A rose is a rose is a rose and darn hard to paint!  Buds and daisies are a cinch, but roses cause me all kinds of grief.  Happy with how this one turned out (a miracle!).  
Limited my palette to Rembrant's transparent red, Grumbacher Pretest ultramarine blue, and Gamblin Indian yellow.  Plus Grumbacher Pretest titanium white.  That's it.  It was impossible to make "mud" with such a limited color selection.  I also think the colors all work together as a whole, harmoniously.  Bravo to me!  Some days I'm much happier with the outcome than others.
First wiped the canvas with Indian yellow and allowed some to show through here and there as the paint was applied.  Finished in one four hour session, alla prima, which means all at once, wet into wet.  Did not use ANY medium, just paint straight from the tube.  Lid was on the Gamsol right after I toned the canvas at the beginning.  Cleaned brushes by pulling paint off with Viva paper towels.  Worked standing... keeps me looser, sitting causes me to fuss and fiddle too much.  NFS

 #25 of the 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge... only 5 to go!

10 comments:

Anne Winthrop Cordin said...

you are really a pro with those roses, beautiful! I like the limited palette too, but I'm unfamiliar with a Pretest color. Big kudos for this one Diane!

Theresa Grillo Laird said...

Absolutely lovely! I've painted a lot of roses and they're still not easy.I like the idea of indian yellow underneath.

Vianna Szabo said...

This is lovely, Diane! Very sensitive feel for the form. Indian yellow a great color for and under-painting. I like to think of it as sunshine in a tube!

Diane Mannion said...

Thanks, Everyone! I felt with this painting... if I could just get one petal right, I could do the rest. It was like working a jigsaw puzzle. Got one piece working and painted the next, on the roses, not the leaves which I left unfinished. If it hadn't been for the 30/30 challenge, I might have worked another day on it.
And Anne, it's Grumbacher Pretested. I've used this paint since art school (a hundred years ago). Excellent stuff, artist quality at reasonable price, made in USA.

Unknown said...

Its so interesting to read about other artists palettes. I learn so much, even though I work with colored pencil. When I really admire the hues in a painting like this one, and then I read about the colors you mixed, I make mental notes of how nicely those colors flow together into a unified painting. This is so lovely! It expresses joy and sentiment.

Diane Mannion said...

Thank you for you comment, Katherine. The art of painting, drawing, color, and "seeing", is a life-long journey. Art brings me great joy and I'm glad to share it with others.

Claire Beadon Carnell said...

This is absolutely lovely. The colors work so well together in this altogether charming painting. It just became a new favorite of mine!

Diane Mannion said...

Clare, thank you. It's a favorite of mine, also. Sometimes, they turn out really fine... and sometimes not. But that's what keeps me painting.

Kathleen Eve Kelly said...

Gorgeous...no wonder it's NFS...haha!

Jane said...

I will try that too to paint directly from the tube without any mediums ! And like you I start fussing and fiddling when sitting down...and I take off my glasses in order to paint loose :-))) Lovely roses !