Yes these 15 paintings are putting up quite the challenge for me, but I’ll not be put off by it – I’m meeting the exercise head on . . . will take longer than 15 days, lol!
#2 Rose Bud an oil pastel (7×5) was painted on a gesso prepared Ampersand Board – love the way the board handled this painting. I first painted thin layers for the background in acrylic paint and then applied a coat of clear gesso to get a little more tooth to the surface. From that point forward it was all oil pastels for both the rose and background, I used a clay shaper and foam insulation as tools for blending.
Hope you enjoy and man, it’s Thursday I’ve got to get on with my Thursday drawing project. See you later ~ click onto the image for a larger view.
The reference image was from Vitor Dias a fabulous photographer and friend from pmp.
DON’T TAKE MY IMAGES!! MY ART IS COPYRIGHTED.
PLEASE DON’T COPY OR USE MY IMAGE WITHOUT RECEIVING MY PERMISSION FIRST – SEE DISCLOSURE ON THE RIGHT PANEL.
Oil Pastels by Mary 
Just stunning work Mary!
Thank you Eunice!
How delicate and beautiful, Mary! I also love the way you handled the back round. Gorgeous!
Thank you my friend, means a lot to receive your feedback!
Beautiful! Love the detail. Very realistic.
Hi Isabel, thanks very much!
Beautiful rosebud Mary. Interesting that you applied acrylic layers first and then gesso. Usually its the reverse, is it not?
Hi Beth, thanks very much. On this painting I needed tooth for the oil pastel to grab onto, even though there was some tooth to the surface. Once the underpainting was done, probably half the tooth was filled by the acrylic paint, so after the acrylic was dried I applied a coat of clear gesso that gave the surface back the tooth needed for the OPs.
If I paint on hardboard I will apply a regular gesso to seal the board, then paint an underpainting if I’m doing one with the particular painting. After this, either on top of the regular gesso or underpainting, I’ll apply several coats of “clear” gesso (contains sand/grit) for the tooth that is necessary for oil pastels. After the surface has dried the surface it’s ready to apply OPs. Oil pastels need tooth or a textured surface to grab onto, regular gesso (acrylic paint) is too slick for oil pastels and when applying OPs the paint will kind of slide around and not grab onto the surface, thus not letting any additional layers to be applied.
I know it’s a long explanation, hope this helps. Let me know if you have any more questions. Gesso is a great tool of the trade.
Thanks Mary, so good of you to explain this. I have not used clear gesso yet. You learn something new everyday. 🙂
It’s nice and gritty for a slick smooth surface – allows the OPs to have something to grab onto. Hope you give it a try sometime.
Beautiful rose bud!
Thanks so much for your feedback!
The freshness of it! Lovely.
Thank you so much Ann-Christine, rose buds are treasures from nature.
Another beauty Mary!! 🙂
Thank you Susan – great to have you back!
Back but still no time to spend at my easel! Soon I hope.
Soon I hope!
It’s beautiful. Thanks for sharing your techniques.
Thanks so much JSD!
Beautiful!!!
Thanks Rexlin and very nice to see you again!
Wow – so beautiful!
Thank you Fiona!!
So lovely, Mary! That pink is so vibrant!
Thanks Francesca! Have a wonderful weekend.
How immensely talented you are dear!
Thank you so much Maniparna!! Have a lovely weekend.
Few things more lovely than a rosebud, Mary 🙂
You are speaking to my heart – absolutely. Sounds weird, but I love them when they are wilting and turning a deep rich color. Have a wonderful weekend.
You have such a great technique, and a good understanding of the use of the oil pastels. Love the layers!
Thanks very much Mark – actually my working with oil pastels is a work in progress and believe it or not, I learned something on every painting I do. I’m loving the experience ~ thank you!
WOW!!! This is so gorgeous! The colors are so striking, Mary! I really love this one.w
Thanks Patsy – appreciate your generous feedback on this one. Have a nice weekend ~ P.S. I did get your email, just realized I didn’t respond. It seems that you are able to comment now, must have been fixed – somehow.
Absolutely gorgeous! 🙂
Nice to see you again Jackie! Thank you very much ~
You’re very welcome! I hope you have a lovely weekend. 🙂
Thanks Jackie and the same to you!
Awesome, like the surrounding color that looks like an aura:) Beautiful painted!
Than you so much – love your feedback.
Ker-umbs !!! Yer a
⭐
Mary !!!
My favourite flower, this one – and no, it has nothing to do with my name. 🙂
Oh, something tells me that you are into this “Rose” bud!! Thanks M.R.
Yes, but ! – I know I am going to like every one of your floral works ! 🙂
Tantalisingly on the brink … it’s one buxom beauty of a rose bud ! Gorgeous work .. love the lit background with hints of pink blushes 🙂
Wonderful eye Poppy – thanks for catching the background “hints of pink blushes” – what a fabulous description! Thanks so much – this is when I love roses, well this and when they are opened and also dying (the colors are gorgeous). Okay I love roses all the time – thank you for such a generous response to this piece.
Oh, I love this!
Thank you so much, love it coming from the master of gardens!
Well, I’m not sure about that…but it sure makes me wish I was in mine right now!
Your gardens is an inspiration to many and I’m in awe of the photographic scenes you are able to catch.
You cached a most beautiful moment in a rose life! Love how you worked your magic on the petals, very delicate veins with lovely gradual saturation and a most brilliant move to bring in the rose coloration into the background. Marvelous, the Queen of flowers is ready to open and offer us her eternal beauty!
Hi Eva, thank you again for bringing such an awesome response to this painting. There was a time when painting this that I thought the colors wouldn’t work on the rose petals, but after leaving the painting over night and seeing it with fresh eyes I decided to keep on working it. Thanks for noticing the background – loved working this part of the piece. Loving roses, the burst of new roses opening is awesome – your bushes now are flush with leaves and hints of rose buds, I’m hoping next week that the buds start to appear. I hope you have a lovely weekend ~
Thank you Mary, wishing you as well an awesome weekend! 🙂
Thanks Eva and have a wonderful Spring-time weekend!
Delicate, Miss Mary
and for me full of promise
Big Hugs
uncle john
Love your description and feedback Uncle John on this piece. Thanks so much ~
So beautifully done, Mary. The bud is perfect, and I love the background too. 🙂
Thanks Sylvia really appreciate your thoughts on this piece – it was a wonderful painting to work on. So glad you enjoyed it.
Your rose is beautiful Mary. It looks soft and yet so vibrant. Full of spring joy! The background is a wonderful support for this exciting piece. Well done!
Hi Rhonda, this was a wonderful flower to work on – thanks for your generous feedback. Perhaps it’s time for the rose to burst open – yeah, Spring is calling!!
all the very best!! keep pressing forward!
Thank you Namesi for your encouragement and lovely comment!
The rosebug is beautifully done. And, the background made the rosebug stand out. Love it!
Thank you Amy – I loved working the background. The underpainting was very quiet and understated, which I wanted, this allowed the oil pastels to add interesting patterns and then bringing in colors from the rose and petals. This was a fun painting to do ~ thanks again.
Such a beautiful image, I love how you blended the colors to make it so eye catching.
Thank you so much Charlie for noticing the blending. It was key to this flower and a little tricky at this size – if I was to paint this again I’d go bigger. Thanks I’m glad you enjoyed the painting.
This is amazing… it’s like the rose has just sprung from the ground (the way tulips do) and the petals are mere moments away from bursting open “to life”. I love this painting!! 🙂
Awesome you got it Marick – that’s exactly how I wanted it to read. Thanks very much, a perfect description.
Quite beautiful, Mary. (I love Ampersand board) It looks happy, and almost ready to do its thing!
Hi Cynthia, thank you – always appreciate your generous feedback. Ampersand is a funny support surface, sometimes it works beautifully w/oil pastels and others not so. I lucked out with this painting and it may be because I used an acrylic underpainting first and then applied clear gesso for additional tooth, but using the clay shaper really filled it in quickly and then the razor came to my rescue. So glad you enjoyed this painting. Our rose bushes are filling out nicely with thick leaves and any day now I should start to see some buds. Stay safe with the snow storms coming your way. Thanks again ~
love your rosebud, expertly done !
Thank you so much for your lovely feedback – nice to meet you!
This is another beauty, Mary. So there!
Thank you Sarah – this was a fun piece to develop w/layers. Appreciate your feedback ~
One can almost smell the fragrance!
Such a compliment Ashok – thank you so much.
Very nice Mary! ~Rita
Thanks Rita – really appreciate it!
Like the veins and the graduated saturation of colours on the petals!
Hi A! Thanks so much – the colors were fun to mix and blend. It would have been easier if the painting was larger – I do think it could stand on it’s own as a larger piece, what do you think? Thanks again.