Burning Rose

Burning Rose - Watercolor and pencil - 5 x 7 inches.

As a teacher, I found that many of my students shared the same difficulty: an aversion to making mistakes. It was hard to convince them that mistakes are an artist's best friends. Mistakes show you the value of drawing in sketchbooks. And mistakes keep you humble. Mistakes often open doors and point you in directions you may not have imagined.

Here's an example of mistakes, of paths not taken. I won't point them out; you can use your imagination. This rose has never appeared in a finished painting and possibly never will. But trying to draw it accurately and making mistakes pushed me into drawing more flowers. Perhaps some day, after even more mistakes, I'll return to this sketch and start drawing flowers burning with blue flames.

Want more sketches? Use the links below to browse the previous posts in this #steemexclusive series, always shared only on WOX. Special thanks to @stef1 for the idea.

1. José
2. Monforte Gardens
3. Siena Sketch
4. Room Study
5. My Friend Manolo
6. Calle de Caballeros
7. Bridge Sketch
8. Tim, a sketch from my book
9. Iceland Sketch
10. Shopping Sketch
11. Holbrooke Hotel Bar
12. Chandelier
13. Passengers to Portland
14. Gladiolus
15. Weston
16. Madrid Estanque
17. Travelers, anywhere
18. Helicopter
19. Sketch for a Gift
20. Sketches of Sculptures
21. Dragon
22. Self Portrait
23. Monster
24. Retiro, Madrid
25. Pomegranates
26. Waiting Room
27. Street Corner
28. Irish Beach Sketches
29. Canyon Sketch
30. Street Corner
31. Daphne Sketch
32. Jockey Street
33. Weston
34. Eagle and Volcano
35. A Patient Patient
36. Drawing in Lugano
37. Pétanque
38. Bird of Paradise
39. Ferry to Whidbey Island

For more thoughts, poems and images:
☛ My book, Double Vision and Waking Dreams
☛ My website, JohnMichaelKeating.com