How nice of you to want to learn to paint up pretty hand painted pieces for your family and friends. Murals are fun too! I did my daughter's whole playroom and I painted trailing roses in our movie room and a rose tree in our upstairs bathroom.  Believe me, once you get the hang of these roses...you will want to paint on anything that doesn't have legs!!  tee hee.
I have never taken a one stroke class.  However, I did find a Donna Dewberry Rose "how to" video at Walmart, bought it and the rest is history!  I watched that tape over and over and over again until the one stroke rose method got into my brain!!!  LOL  I remember sitting in front of the tv pressing the pause button and then painting what she just painted.  Well, needless to say I still didn't have those roses perfected!   I hear they are just the trickiest of all the flowers.  And I must agree! It took me forever until I finally was satisfied with what was rolling off the tip of my brush.  I used to struggle and cry and throw my projects!  Ohhh yah, I was a baby when it came to perfecting those roses!  LOL  I wrote a paragraph or two about the summer I really set my mind to painting roses.  I've enclosed the trials and errors of my experience for you to read and laugh about.  I thought it would help (the "Donna Dewberry wanna-be"  in you)  Always remember that the painters you admire all struggled at one time too. :)   I used to be a "DDW-B"  too! :)

Start by buying a Donna Dewberry how to paint roses video (available at Walmart or Michael's Craft Store) View it several times over then view it again and have that pause button ready!   Have your paints arranged on your plate just like she does....then double load your brush.....and practice "wiggling" the paint brush on your practice sheet. I used those Re-usable Training Guides or RTG's   I've seen them post on auctions right here in ebay! They are awesome....you can paint right on them and then wash them off and start again.  Perfect for practicing! You don't have to paint right on your project until you're ready.  Using your video and that pause button, look at exactly what Donna is painting and then pause and give it a try.  You may struggle in the beginning but if you practice, practice, practice....you will get the hang of it :) The hardest thing for me was placement.  Even after I "got" the roses down, I still didn't know where in the heck to paint them on my piece. LOL  I still have some of my old pieces around here that I kept and gosh if they aren't the ugliest pieces ever!!!!!  I'll enclose a picture so you can laugh at my roses :) It'll make you feel better!! LOL
Hang in there...you'll get the hang of it.   I've had quite a few people email me about my roses in the past, hmmmmm....I wonder if I should make a DVD on how to paint roses and how to place them on your project???  hmmmm...now my wheels are turnin'  LOL

Anyway, here is my blog entry on "The Summer of Painting"  Enjoy!

.....It all began one Summer on my back porch......

"The Summer of Painting" A season that could never be repeated! The joy of looking back at all the laughs and surprises as my first year of painting blossomed into an art of passion. Many years back when I first learned how to create such beautiful works of art, I invited my Mother and my Aunt to join me for a Summer of "Perfecting our painting." Never to give up, never to quit, until the desire of mastering "roses" was accomplished. Hot days and cold ice tea were in the forecast for our little bungalow. Nestled in the shadows of the Beautiful Cascades of the Pacific Northwest, we unveiled our true passion. With a view to die for, paint brushes in tow, and no interuptions to speak of, (except for the colorful koi jumping in the pond beside us) we three painted on The Rose Porch.

But the "Light bulb" moment was months away. We struggled! We cryed! We laughed until we ran for the bathroom! We boasted our wares only to be told it wasn't the masterpiece we thought it was!  We threw projects. We painted over mistakes. We even vowed silence, never to pick up a paintbrush again!  And yes, even threw future works of art into the garbage.

Until finally......

The struggle was over. Like a mother forgetting her birthing pains, we too accomplished what we had set out to do. *Perfection of our own creative abilities* (or at least that is how we see it) The tears were gone, along with the hot days of Summer. And gone were the fears of never being able to accomplish what we had set out to do...... Perfect our Passion. Who knew that in our deepest, desperate moment of almost giving up, that our future would hold such an abundance of creative, passionate, abilities beyond compare. A blessing from above, my little shop, "Victorian-Rose-Palette" has blossomed into something of very high demand. I'm so excited to share my beautiful creations with you.....ebay.  Hoping, that in return, you allow me to bless you with many years of Passionate Painting through my Creative Abilities beyond compare. Cheers! from....
The Rose Porch.
Jennifer Dawson
Victorian-Rose-Palette


Some of my first roses: (It's okay to laugh! LOL)


SEE, I WASN'T GOOD AT PLACEMENT!!!!  LOL


Just keep on practicing and you will soon be creating masterpieces with your own style and flare to the one stroke painting technique!
Cheers!