Bursting in Spirit

Today it has been drizzling rain all day, the leaves are falling from the trees and fall is fading into winter. One of the things we do every year is to protect the rose bushes in our yard.  It is amazing that these delicate roses can even grow in this 8,000 feet elevation.

One of the things we learned about caring for roses is that the Root has to be protected. If you will keep the roots protect, the rose bush will survive. So we put hay on the ground for insulation.

Bursting in Spirit (Watercolor 14X18)

The snow will lay on these bushes all year. They will not see spring or hear the turtle doves until next April.

Petals Tips! I call this watercolor painting Bursting in Spirit, because it has the feel of just coming forth without any effort. I remember the day I painted them, they just happened.

I wet the unmarked 300# paper, dropped in red and pinks, leaving white, then I dropped in some green paint around the red in places, still keeping the whites, darker green at the bottom to give it a feeling of strength, weight, shadow and roots below. The darks establishes it, where the light is airy and feels like sunshine coming in through the roses.

I also dropped in a little yellow  in the green, showing highlights on the leaves. Before it dried and after the sheen of the water was gone, I sprinkled course salt around. What I mean by the sheen is gone, the water has to dry to a point that when the salt is sprinkled in, it doesn't  dissolve but it crystallizes, making texture.  The course salt will mean bigger crystals. On this one I also threw the salt randomly, covering even some of the roses.  I don't usually do that, I usually keep the salt in the background.

It worked great with this painting.  After it dried, I took a small brush, whirled marks starting at the center with small circles, then larger, making the rose unfold from the bud. Happy Painting.

Meanderings~~~~~ When I went to a class on roses, I thought how appropriate. Protect the roots and the bush will survive. Our roots are so important, even if we don't like where we came from or what happened to us during those years, we are our history.  We learn from it, we take on the characteristics of our family, we lean towards it, it is who we are.

There is much to say about the roots and I will expound later. Take time to smelling the roses today.