This week, i’m painting another winter plant : Hellebores also know as Christmas roses.
Juste above you can have a look at my reference picture. They are pink christmas roses, quite light in color. If you discard all the other clues on this picture, they have quite a springy look : light and punchy green, splashes of pink and glossy petals.
So the biggest challenge in this painting is to get the winter feel with the springy colors. I’ve chosen to express this cold feeling with color. Each time i’m applying greens on the paper, i tweak my mix in order to have more blue in it. It will make the green looking colder and give you this information of winter scene. In order to reinforce that feeling i’m also working the soil with burnt sienna mix with the bue. It will give you the information of dying leaves on the ground and it will still be quite cold because of the blue.
Painting christmas roses in video
Supplies :
Brushes : Escoda Último 1″, Escoda Último nº18, Raphaël petit gris 903 nº12.
Paper : Canson héritage hot pressed.
Colors : Indanthrene blue (Sennelier), Nickel azo yellow (Daniel Smith), Wisteria(Daniel Smith), Rose madder lake (Sennelier).
And here you have the finished painting (click to enlarge) :
