On the Subject of Roses

I thought I was done with roses with my last post on New York's rose sculptures. But then, today is valentine's day - and what is heart's day without roses?

There is nothing more difficult for a truly creative painter
than to paint a rose, because before
he can do so he has first to forget
all the roses that were ever painted. - Henri Matisse

*This was actually the result of my practice session shooting in manual mode. Coming up with these photos took me a while - whew.