"Very First Rose" A pink rose portrait.

by Christopher Lemon
(Maine)

Hi,

This was my first attempt at the Flemish technique. I am mostly a self taught painter and I stumbled on the Flemish technique thanks to you and I'm loving it.

This rose turned out to be more of a learning exercise for me since it taught me all of the things that I can do in the early stages to make the quality better in the end. Although I'm not happy with the end result, I know it wasn't all a loss.

I began oil painting as a way to waste time and quickly became addicted. I have 3 more paintings in the works now using the Flemish technique, each of which will most likely be better than the last.

That to me is the greatest part of painting.

I have a degree in Applied Mathematics and Statistics and this is what I've chosen to do for a living right now.

Thank you for opening up a new door in my painting adventure.

Any and all advice on how to improve is definitely welcome!


Editors Note:

Wow, this is a lovely piece of work! The beauty behind oils also, is, if you are not satisfied with the outcome, it is easy to paint over areas to do some additional work. As a beginner, we have problems painting what we see. Lots of time we paint what we think should be there.

Don't be afraid to paint what you actually see. The petals in this work show great promise. The modeling is there. I can see each petal and understand it's shape. You have accomplished the first goal in a realistic work, (if that is your intent). Now to add more Life or UMPHA to the piece you can in the dark regions of the petal, don't be afraid to apply even a darker color, and the highlights can go all the way up to open white if you like. This will allow the folds within the petals to be seen even better. As each will become their own tiny world.

It would be great to hear back from you as to it's size. Thanks for contributing. This is such a great painting as your first. I cannot help to think we will be seeing even greater from you in the future!

Delmus