How to Paint One Stroke Roses

Images of roses add life to a painting.

One stroke roses are a beautiful, easy way to spruce up any art project. This rose design is popular because of its simplicity. With a few tools and the right technique, use one stroke roses to add beauty and elegance to your next painting project.

Things You'll Need

• Medium sized flat paint brush
• Acrylic paint of red and yellow
• Canvas

Instructions

1. Load up a medium size paint brush with red and yellow paints in shades of your choice. Load the red paint on the top half of the brush and the yellow on the bottom half.

2. Make a crescent stroke on your canvas. The crescent stroke is the shape of a "C" turned sideways so that the arch is facing upward and the ends are pointing down. To do this stroke, start out with your brush vertical on the canvas, creating a chisel. As you start your stroke, add pressure to the brush to flatten it. As you come to the end of the stroke, pull up again into a chisel. This is your first petal.

3. Paint the second petal. On the left side of the first petal, do another crescent stroke. This time, paint the stroke so the arch is on it's side and the end is extended slightly so it looks like an apostrophe.

4. Paint the third petal using an S stroke, this stroke looks like a backward "S." Paint it on the right side of your first petal. Start the stroke with a curly beginning and extend the end of the stroke with less of a curl.

5. Paint the fourth petal. This petal is another variation of the crescent stroke, but fatter and flatter on the canvas. Paint this petal on the left side of the rose, slightly below the second petal and with the end of the stroke meeting the bottom of the third petal.

6. Paint the fifth petal as a comma stroke. This stroke is like a crescent stroke, but with a more fanned out end, which gives it a comma-like appearance. Paint this petal slightly below the third petal with the end of the stroke meeting the bottom of the third petal, slightly above the end of the fourth petal.

7. Paint the final petal on the bottom of your rose. This stroke will be an upside down crescent stroke. Start the stroke below the fourth rose and end the stroke below the fifth petal.

8. Add extra petals. Your rose is complete after the sixth petal, but if you want a fuller rose, add one or two crescent or comma strokes to the bottom of your rose.

Tips & Warnings

• Reload paint onto your brush every two or three strokes, or when your strokes start to look dry.

• Practice the different strokes before you paint one stroke roses for an art project. Get the feel of the design first, and you'll make fewer mistakes.

References

• Basic One Stroke Rose Tutorial

Resources

• Basic Brush Strokes Tutorial