Dawn and Dusk Watercolor

Dawn and Dusk, watercolor, 17"h x 13"w.

My latest watercolor is a luscious combination of the climbing rose 'New Dawn' and clematis 'Etoile de Violette' that grows on the side of my porch. I started working on this two years ago, developing the drawing from a set of photos I'd taken that spring--my drawing is a bit on the sloppy side with many unresolved areas, but I thought it was enough to get started, and worry about developing it more fully as I got into the painting.

Pen and ink drawing for tracing.

The idea was to try to convey the lushness of the two intertwining plants in a composition that spilled in a rambunctious fashion over the entire sheet of watercolor. I started applying some under painting to the central clematis flower when I realized that the Permanent Rose and Cobalt Blue pigment combination I was using was too opaque for the desired effect.

Dawn and Dusk - early stages.

I put the painting aside for two years, searching for more transparent pigments. A number of workshops I took in the intervening years helped me to develop other techniques and find the transparent pigments I was looking for: Quinacridone Coral and Brilliant Blue-violet. I scrubbed as much of the early pigments as possible and started again, this time with happier results.

Dawn and Dusk - later stage.

The illusion of perspective is created mostly by the change in size of the flowers and leaves, as well as light and dark areas. A bit of redesign was necessary to hide a couple of paint spills that happened along the way--I don't always cover my painting to protect the white areas because this makes it difficult to see the entire painting at one time. That's a risk I'm willing to take.

At this point I'm trying to decide if it's finished, or if it needs a few more leaves and/or buds or a little more drybrush in places to bring out the edges of the pale roses. I'll let it sit on my easel for a few more weeks now and think about it before I decide. There's no hurry, as there are no art shows in my schedule anytime in the future.

The Extravagance of Roses

Double Knockout rose

For gardeners, roses are the ultimate extravagance: the queen of flowers! My mother cultivated more than twenty varieties of roses in her tiny Falls Church garden, along with countless other garden standards--her aim was to have "a garden for all seasons," but roses were her favorites. In those days there weren't many deer in the suburbs so she was able to enjoy her roses without having to worry about their depredations. I'm not so lucky here in Front Royal--voracious deer roam all about, and every year I do my best to try to fend them off with repellent spray, so I can enjoy some of their lovely flowers.

Climbing rose' New Dawn' and clemtais 'Etoile Violette'

Shortly after moving here I saw this combination of a climbing rose 'New Dawn' intertwining with the lovely clematis 'Etoile Violette' advertised as "Dawn and Dusk" in a gardening catalog--such an evocative phrase! The following spring I ordered the two plants to train up one of the columns of the porch of our new home. It's been seven years since I planted them, and the display becomes more spectacular every year.

'Petal Pushers' shrub rose with red 'Simplicity

Bed on the west side of the driveway with pink peony and Allium moly

The next year I began to extend the small, linear flower bed on the west side of the driveway and planted three 'Petal Pushers' shrub roses and a pink peony. Over the years I kept expanding the flower bed to include some bearded irises, flowering onions (Allium sp.) and a few more roses: a red 'Simplicity,' the yellow 'Molineux,' and one of my favorites, the hybrid tea rose 'Peace.'

'Molineux' rose

'Peace' rose or grandiflora rootstock?

The 'Peace' rose suffered greatly one very dry winter and died back, but the next spring it eventually came back. I have no idea if the tea rose was grafted or on its own root, and it was the rootstock that sprang forth, but it has gradually been growing and flowering. This rose doesn't look like a tea rose to me, but more like some sort of grandiflora, although it has a similar coloring to 'Peace.' In any case, it's beautiful, healthy and growing. I don't find much to recommend 'Simplicity' other than its bright color and easy care, although the rose hips that form after the flowers fade are attractive.

The only disappointment for me is that so few of these lovely roses have much of the traditional rose fragrance--'New Dawn' has a light scent, and 'Molineux' too. How I long for a beautiful, easy-care rose loaded with perfume! I peruse my gardening catalogs, and am determined that the next rose I plant must be fragrant to the max!

Brief Glory

Dawn and Dusk

Rose 'New Dawn' and Clematis 'Etoile Violette'

This year my climbing rose and Clematis growing on the porch was, as you can see, glorious! Sadly, also brief--a series of storms and constant rain shortened its beauty to about one week. By Sunday evening when the rain stopped my backyard gauge had recorded six inches!

The Red Double Knockout rose seems to be indestructible and lovely as ever, but my other roses haven't presented a display as gorgeous as the previous year. The very dry fall and winter probably did the damage.

Double pink Peony

Peonies and roses

 The double pink Peony came through beautifully, and so did the red "Simplicity' rose. The yellow Alliums (Allium moly) in front are multiplying well, but only a few blooms have appeared on the 'Petal Pusher' roses. You can't win them all. Let's see what the rains bring forth in a few days.