This large rose is painted with a soft yellow wash and the shadowed tones in a lilac and grey.
I’ve left plenty of white in the petals and notice that I’ve reserved a lightest area to suggest the petals furling inwards.
When this wash dried I added a deeper yellow centre and orange details on the stigma, anther and the filaments are suggested at, this keeps the painting soft – like the rose!
When the layers of wash dry add a final layer of tone in lilac and grey with a size 0 brush, keeping your brush strokes in the direction the rose petals grow, centre to outer edge.
By giving the background a strong contrasting colour, I’ve mixed a turquoise, the painting has a contemporary vibrancy.