A Rose is a Rose is …. potentially so much more.
Georgia O’Keefe was a master at observing the abstract forms in nature and translating them into fascinating combinations of modernist abstraction and natural forms suggestive of more than their original subjects. She might show us, for example, something like a holy temple built of radiant crystals, or pillowing winds and a gathering storm, all in the heart of a rose.
In the 1920s O’Keeffe began creating the paintings of enlarged flowers for which she is most famous, including a series of works devoted to the white rose. The large painting (above) titled Ballet Skirt or Electric Light (from the White Rose Motif) has been called her most abstracted depiction of the subject. Says the Art Institute of Chicago, “O’Keeffe simplified the energy of the blooming rose to its essence, so that it resembles a brilliant light radiating out of flat Cubist planes.”
Georgia O’Keeffe, Abstraction White Rose, 1927, oil on canvas, c. 30 x 20 in. San Francisco Museum of Art. Photo by Lindy Walch.
Painted in the same year, her “Abstraction White Rose” undertakes another poetic interpretation of the flower. “In her close study of the center of a white rose, O’Keeffe sets the petals in motion through flowing contours and dramatic gradations of light and dark,” explains the accompanying text at the SFMA, where this painting is currently being exhibited. “The abstracted spiral and teal and gray hues seem more evocative of a stormy vortex than a delicate flower. Glints of yellow peeking out from petal edges in the center and bottom right of the canvas off set the cool tones and hint at a mysterious light source emanating from within.”
Contemporary artist Kyle Ma paints white roses with a gorgeous looseness that balances abstraction and representation. The flower forms in his “White Roses” (below) burst, drift, and morph with translucent color like clouds in a sky of deep forest greens.
Kyle Ma, White Roses, oil. Kyle demonstrates how he painted this beauty in his video, Kyle Ma: Painting Roses
Matt Ryder, too, has a beautiful way of painting roses with loose and impressionistic brushwork and a focus on color temperature and patterns.
A deeply experienced teacher, Matt has found a way to break down the complex edges, shapes, depth, and shadows to a manageable method. If you’d like to follow along as he takes you through his approach step by step, check out his video, Painting Roses Simplified with Matt Ryder.
There’s also a full demo (though without the tutorial steps) free to watch on Eric Rhoads’ Art Shool Live Youtube channel here.
