5 1/2 hour alla prima of roses cut from my tiny inner city backyard garden. Alla prima is still one of the most fun ways to paint. Didn't photo earlier stages of the painting because my camera battery was dead. Bummer.... but I feel I am starting to get the hang of how to paint roses which has been a bit of a beast thus far, I have had a few disasters which I did not post. Below is a close-up of the flowers in this painting. What I am learning and what I have observed from others who paint roses well, is that the rose is suggested. More of an impression, of course you still have to take into account how light hits the forms of the petals and also how the petals are somewhat translucent so light is also passing through the petals, but you have to work fast because the flowers will move as you paint them and there are so many petals that to render each one would be laborious and time consuming, a luxury one does not have if working from live flowers.
   Painting flowers can easily become cheesy, but it does not have to be. Flowers can also be an exploration of nature which has both it's lighter and darker viewpoints. I hope to have both in my work.