Rose Revisited 🌹
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Painting Details
Rose Revisited
Original oil painting
6 x 6 Inches
Returning to a Single Rose
Over a year ago, when Shannon James Art was still in its early days, I painted a little rose called A Single Rose. At the time, I was simply painting a flower I loved and learning as I went, without really knowing where my art journey would take me.
More than a year later, I found myself looking back at that painting and wondering how I would approach the same flower now. So, rather than simply leaving A Single Rose as a little snapshot of where I started, I decided to paint it again.
And that is how Rose Revisited came to be.
Then: A Single Rose
A Single Rose will always be a special painting to me because it represents such an early part of both my journey as an artist and the beginnings of Shannon James Art.
Looking back at your older work can be a funny experience. You can see the things you loved about it when you painted it, but you can also see the things you would approach differently now. That’s not because the original wasn’t good enough. In fact, I think it’s quite the opposite.
Every painting teaches you something. Over the past year, I’ve spent more time painting, experimenting with colour, learning how different techniques work and becoming more confident in my own style. Those changes aren’t always obvious when you’re experiencing them day by day, but looking back at an older painting can make them much easier to see.
That was what made me want to revisit this particular rose.
Now: Rose Revisited
For Rose Revisited, I went back to the same flower and used the original painting as my inspiration, but approached it with everything I’ve learnt since painting A Single Rose.
The subject hadn’t changed, but I had.
I found myself thinking differently about the colour, the way the petals overlap and curl into the centre, the depth within the flower and the way I wanted my brushwork to sit on the canvas. There was more confidence behind the decisions I was making, and I wasn’t trying to reproduce the original painting exactly.
Instead, I wanted to see what would happen if I took the same idea and painted it again with a different set of skills.
The result was Rose Revisited.
Four Hours Later…
The painting took around four hours from start to finish. It was a relatively small piece, measuring just 6 × 6 inches, but working on a small canvas doesn’t necessarily make a painting feel simple.
There was still plenty to consider as I built up the petals, worked through the different shades of pink and added the deeper tones that give the centre of the rose its depth. I wanted the flower to feel soft and dimensional while still allowing some of the brushwork to remain visible.
Seeing A Single Rose and Rose Revisited side by side made me realise just how much can change in a year.
It’s easy to spend your time as an artist looking forward. You’re thinking about the next painting, the next thing you want to learn and all the areas where you still want to improve. Sometimes you don’t stop to recognise how far you’ve already come.
The Materials I Used
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Oil Paints
Jackson’s Professional Oil Colours
Canvas
Jackson’s Premium Primed Stretched Cotton Canvas
Linseed Oil & Mediums