The Fulham Rose was modelled on one of the roses we saw in the garden of a local Fulham pub. It was a very sunny day in June 2018. The flowers were fast wilting on the garden trellis.
We were first attracted to the petals of roses scattered in the small garden pool. There were not many roses in full bloom left. There was a sense of urgency, a desire to immortalise the roses before they went for good.
The Fulham Rose was painted much later, during the 2018 FIFA World Cup, whilst we were listening to one of the England matches on radio. It’s hard to paint and watch anything at the same time. So we listened to audio commentaries instead whilst painting.
Roses look good at any stages, from a little bud to a full bloom. However, we like to paint them when the petals are fully opened. We feel that the texture of the petals, the shading and the ageing colour give the roses a distinctive personality. But this also means that the roses are mature, perhaps over three weeks old. At this stage, they start to shed the petals. So we haven’t got much time to draw roses at their peak.
The moment a rose is fully opened, it is at its most beautiful. It is also nearing the end of its bloom.
We caught the Fulham Rose just at the right moment, as it began to shed its petals. This is how we’d like to remember it.
Studio GLUE 