too pure and trans- 

 parent, and at the 

 same time tooquiet 

 and flat, so as to 

 give the idea of 

 depth. It must 

 recede, as it were, 



and this will help your petals, with their creamy curved edges, to 

 stand out more boldly ; only don't make the latter too hard ; note 

 their modelling, and their almost opalescent shading of tender grey as 

 they curl over. 



You will notice in flower painting of all kinds 



what a study the texture and consistcncj' of flower 



petals gives you ; the solid " fleshiness " of a camellia 



t,^ jH or tuberose, for instance, is quite distinct from the 



^W "IK velvety softness of a rose, and this again is quite 



different from the flimsiness of an azalea or poppy. 



Seek to notice individuality in different varieties 

 of flowers ; to understand their characteristics will 

 enable you to portray their beauties, not only with 

 greater ease, but with more intelligence and truth 

 to Nature. This is, as it were, the anatomy of the 

 subject, and I used to think such analj-sis was dry 

 and uninteresting in the extreme, that it was enough 

 to try faithfully to reproduce the beauty before me, 

 without bothering my head about drj-, structural 

 details. 



I am older and wiser, and I see farther now. 

 Dry ! Why I Nature stud\- (even apart from its 

 application to Art) is one of the greatest delights 

 I know, however crude and unscientific our methods 

 of approaching it may be. And I am absolutelj- 

 certain that an intelligent knowledge of character 

 ^ and habit is of immense help when we are struggling 

 with a subject like a rose, whose beauty of form is so 

 transient and evanescent that, even as we work, the opening petals are 

 confusing us and totally altering from the outline of our drawing, for, 

 without an intimate iniderstanding through practice and study, we arc 

 quite unable to grasp the general characteristics of line and form. 



Although far from wishing my readers to follow the " cabbage-like" 

 form of the rose painting in the album, I would still wish to point out 

 that there is always an underlj'ing spherical (or perhaps I should say, 

 egg-shaped) form in a rose. The petals are wrapped round this, and, 

 however they unfold and change in shape as the flower matures, this 

 form is always there as a basis. 



The wayside rose 

 Blossomed in every 



fragile crimson 



change. 



i:. //.twilton KiKg. 



