A rose by any other name ...

There is nothing more difficult for a truly creative painter than to paint a rose, because before he can do so he has first to forget all the roses that were ever painted. - Henri Matisse
I'm no Matisse, but I do think the darks and contrast in the red rose make it pleasantly dramatic. I wish there had been more veins to paint! Those really captured my imagination but alas, I had to hold back as putting them anywhere else would've made it look old and dried out. No good. So here it is finished and full of life! Ta dah! 

A rose is the visible result of an infinitude of complicated goings on in the bosom of the earth and in the air above, and similarly a work of art is the product of strange activities in the human mind. - Clive Bell  
I always knew I was strange! Ha! Good thing I have art to let it out on! Otherwise it might spill out into other areas of my life :) Nobody comment on that please.

When I was finished with my rose, my hubby was still at work finishing up some things so I did a quick sketch of this lovely fella, not spending time worrying about composition or any of those other pesky problems. I don't really paint animals. Can't say I ever ever have in fact, so I wasn't ready to commit to an actual painting, but I wanted to play around and my poor, beautiful watercolor sketchbook has been rather lonely as of late. I did discover that it's paper has a major flaw. It doesn't allow you to scrub out areas to remove color. The paper partially rubs off with it. Bad news. Especially for the way I paint. Fortunately for the sketchbook, the outside and gorgeous-edged homemade paper might just be lovely enough to be forgiven for this serious flaw.
Only time can tell.