A Cascade of Roses

A crescent of sunlight, streaming under the arches, illuminates the bottom of the blue door. I use a mixture of Ultramarine Blue + a tiny touch of MUD (Ultramarine Blue + Alizarin Crimson) + White for the shadow and pure Ultramarine Blue + White for the highlight. One of our readers asked if French Ultramarine Blue is the same as just plain Ultramarine Blue. Definitely yes, it depends on what the manufacturer decides to call it.

I had originally planned Trumpet Vine here but Jack suggested a cascade of fragrant Climbing Roses since I hadn’t painted any for a while. Great idea! Permanent Rose + Cadmium Red Light + White is the basic mix. Magenta is added for the flowers in shadow. The green foliage is worked around the coral color, shaping the blossoms.

I add a touch of Cadmium Orange to the mixtures used on the background building, making them warmer so the foreground structure will come forward. The paint on the stonework of the arches is applied loosely, the rough brushwork helps to give the impression of the ancient rock.

Purple Thunbergia Vine drapes down, adding interest to the dark area without pulling the viewer’s gaze away from the sunny courtyard. Sometimes we pull out some special colors that we just can’t mix with our Double Primary Palette. Diaxozine Purple is one of them, it is perfect for the Thunbergia flowers. To learn more about our Color Mixing System CLICK HERE.

Magenta centers complete the purple blossoms. The leaves are a warm green made of Ultramarine Blue + Cadmium Yellow Medium.

The fountain is made a darker adobe color to contrast with the lighter building. This also allows the water happily burbling down to show more clearly. We’ve enjoyed having you drop in the studio today. Please come back soon. Hugs, Mikki Senkarik

Website: www.senkarik.com