December Love

Roses do not grow outside in December in Vermont, but they do hang in there in other parts. My friend suggested that this looks like one of those last roses of December, hence the title. Personally I think it looks like an alien ship that landed on a barren planet. I love the strong shadows. The cloth is actually more purple than the photo shows and the rose is more intense. This is a part of a series of acrylic still lifes I am doing when I paint once a week at the Chaffee Art Gallery. It is easier to use acrylics on the go and it is easy to set up a small still life with a little portable lamp to illuminate it...or strong sunshine if I paint outside. It is also important to me to mix it up a bit with different mediums and subject matter. Soon I am going to start a series of watercolor landscapes. I have several commissions to do first. #29