Prompt
- Create a painting of 1-3 roses.
- Investigate the forms and spaces inside the roses.
Objectives
- To capture the gesture of the rose as if it were a figure.
- Establish a mood for the painting.
- (example: a “sad” rose vs. a “perky” rose)
Reference photos
- Work from life: Purchase rose(s) and watch Kathleen Speranza’s tips on how to set up your rose(s).
- Work from a photo: Use our reference photos of roses here on on Art Prof’s free reference photo collection on Flickr.
- Don’t just pick any random photo, rather choose your photo with intent.
- Think about which photo will more easily emphasize gesture and emotion in your painting.
Recommended media
Any paint medium: watercolor, gouache, acryl gouache, oils, water mixable oils, acrylics. We recommend using the same paint medium for the entire track.
Inspiration
Kathleen Speranza, Adriaen van Utrecht, Jan Davidsz. de Heem, Vincent van Gogh, Rachel Ruysch, Jan Philips van Thielen, John William Waterhouse.
We want to share your progress!
- Did you do this lesson?
- Submit to have your work to be posted here on this page or mentioned in a live stream.
Rose Drawings in Pencil & Charcoal
See how to draw roses with pencil and charcoal as preparatory drawings for oil paintings. Kathleen Speranza explains her engagement with roses as a figurative subject for her paintings.
Kathleen provides a comprehensive demo on how to set up the lighting and placement of the roses, how to sharpen & prepare pencil/charcoal supplies, and then how to draw a structural drawing in pencil, and a pictorial drawing in charcoal.
Art Prof Clara Lieu and Guest Teaching Artist Kathleen Speranza.
- Video Walkthrough & more
- Watch the 3 min. version
- Watch the 65 min. version
Rose Oil Paintings: Process & Vision
Painting roses can be not just a beautiful painting experience, but also one that communicates emotion and thought. This video is a discussion about Kathleen Speranza’s oil paintings, graphite drawings, and charcoal drawings focused on garden roses. In the discussion,
Kathleen’s inspiration for roses and provide insight into her drawing and painting process. Discussion led by Art Prof Clara Lieu and Art Prof Guest Teaching Artist Kathleen Speranza.
