Yellow Roses Oil on Canvas Panel The Botanical Gardens in Birmingham are a treasure. I have been to gardens in Canada, around the States, and Europe, and I think this one is one of the best I’ve seen. It has a nice diversity ranging from Japanese gardens to vegetable gardens and the crown jewel in the midst of everything, is the garden of roses. You encounter this beautiful area as soon as you walk in. Oh, did I mention, the price of admission is free? I have done photo shoots for portraits there and have come numerous times to get ideas for my own garden but this was the first time I went to paint. The expression “too much of a good thing” came to mind as I walked all over the grounds looking for just the right setting. There was simply too much and I was starting to get overwhelmed. I couldn't decide on anything. Before I knew it, I was back at the entrance, ready to pack up and go home. This I just couldn’t do because I came to paint and I knew I couldn’t quit. So instead of thinking large, such as tree-lined paths, I thought about painting a smaller scene and honed in on the roses. I don't know why I picked yellow roses. That color is very hard to paint, especially outside because there really is no real dark yellow. It's either orange or brown or purple, but it has to read as yellow. There was no shade and I was out in the sun without an umbrella to shade the painting. This made things difficult, but there was a painting to do. Throughout my painting the roses, I had a very hard time actually seeing the work and had to just trust my instincts. When I got it back to the van, I could finally see it and was pleasantly surprised. |
|
||||
Click to enlarge