A Gentle Soul

 Rose coming to life in watercolour

Minus a preliminary sketch

On every workshop I am asked to demonstrate how I paint roses. They are indeed a favourite subject of mine. This morning I picked one from my garden and began to paint it.While I did so words from my Chinese mentor came flooding back to me. They told me a good artist can only paint what is in their soul. They believed that you should never try to be someone you aren't with your art. They advised that you should not only be true to your own soul as an artist but you should also allow who you are to shine in your art. They urged me to delve deep within myself each time I picked up a brush to encourage my spirit to flow into my work.

I remember them telling me that I had a gentle soul and that no matter how hard I tried in my art journey I would always  return to who I truly am.

A soft, gentle soul.

So maybe that is why no matter how often I experiment, every now and then I want to paint quietly, softly and gently encouraging subjects to emerge via my soft brushstrokes and gentle use of colour .

As in this rose painting.

I started by selecting gorgeous colours from my Daniel Smith collection of shades.

 Opera Rose, Quinachridone Lilac and Rose Madder Permanent created this soft bloom

I used Cadmium Yellow for the centre but I varied the pinks in the petals.  I think we often look at a pink flower and only see pink. When in truth many shades of pink are right before our eyes. Maybe the best gift an artist possess's is the ability to see. Only by constant observation can we create great replicas of what nature has to offer in beauty.

 Further detail added

Summer is coming to an end here in UK and if I want to paint flowers I need to do so quickly before they all disappear.

There is no time better for painting than right now.

And so I am off to paint!

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