Thursday, August 9, 2012


Panama Rose
Watercolor Demonstration ~ SOLD
11"x15" watercolor paper
© 2012 Barbara Parish
Curves, flips, connected. 
Soft folds, crisp ruffled edges. 
Color intense to tone. 
Values light to dark.
All on a stem with thorns. 
Can you guess what I am talking about?  Yes! ROSES. 
Roses are one of the most beautiful flowers, yet a new painter has a hard time with all the edges and close action of the petals.   
Here comes the word SIMPLIFY.  Ask yourself what does SIMPLIFY mean to you?  I look at the word simplify and think of less, fewer, selected.  My job of creating a painting is to grab the essence of my subject, not to report every edge and line I see.  Got it?
The rose side view painted with fewer petals, hard edges, with lost edges on the leaves.  

Another technique, I start painting a rose in the center with a dash stroke, and then with the chiseled edge of a flat brush I carve one small line after another, each overlapping in a continuous swirl.  After three layers of swirl I rinse my brush, tap my paper towel to absorb some water from the brush, go back to the rose and touch some edges to release the line.  Now I have lost edges and hard edges.  Try it! 
This technique can be used in all your paintings to create a painterly look.

Join me for a live demonstration August 18th, Big Bear Lake One-Day Watercolor Workshop.  
To Register:  click Barbara Parish 

2 comments:

  1. Love your Panama Rose Barbara and your invitation to distill the image we hold in our heads to its essence. Wonderful advice for someone who often gets overwhelmed by the 'details'. thank you!
    Hugs from Port Townsend,
    Frances

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  2. Good to hear from you Frances! It's my pleasure to share and my passion to paint.
    Keep in touch, Barbara

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