"Yellow Rose"

($50.00.....6" x 6".....Water Soluble Oils on Gessobord)

"Yellow roses express Texas love." There are several reasons why I love yellow roses. I am a native Texan; I carried them at my wedding; and they're beautiful!

Unless you are painting a still life with the flowers lying on their side or in a vase, the other option is to allow them to take up most of the design space. All of this got me to thinking once again about positive and negative space. If the image takes up most of the space, the result is a very dramatic painting. If, on the other hand, the negative takes up most of the space, the result is a quieter and much less dramatic piece. My natural inclination is to allow the image to take up most of the space because I like drama (the good kind!)

Of course, cropping the image so that parts of it are completely running out of the design boundary will also create drama. These are very important considerations when choosing how to compose your piece. My motive in painting this piece took into account that roses are much easier to paint with a palette knife if they're large. I simply didn't feel like putting myself through the kind of agony early in the morning that required painting several of them in a vase.  

You can also experiment with your camera to see check out positive and negative space arrangements without having to actually paint each one. Either way, it's a good thing to think about these things and try all of the options. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.