Cottage Roses

Cottage Roses Original Oil on board 25cm x 17cm by John McCartin

This painting is so delicate that the roses look like the petals will start falling any minute.  His use of light is superb and with him painting from freshly cut flowers he is able to capture that spontaneity of soft light on delicate petals.

In 2023 John won “Best Still Life Painting in the World Art Awards” which was contested by artists from 79 countries and judged by 20 judges one each from 20 countries and from the thousands of entries they all agreed that John’s still life was the best and this painting was sent from Morpeth Gallery to a New York customer.

In 2024 John won again, “The best still life in the world” but this time he went one better taking out “Best Painting In Show”. His still life painting was put up against the winners from each of the 50 categories in the show to find the best of the best and his still life won this effectively making it the Best painting in the world for 2024…John has now won 122 international art awards, more than any Australian artist.

This group of roses are neither hybrid tea nor floribunda but are old fashion roses. They are commonly misunderstood roses and are often accused of only flowering once or of being very large growers. This is not always the case as many have repeated flowering and most grow to the same height as floribundas. Many of these shrub roses will thrive in conditions that are unsuitable to hybrid teas or floribundas. The shrub roses are the ideal cottage garden type, typically with pink shades, overblown and full of fragrance.

Hybrid Tea roses are the most popular group of roses. The flower stems are long and the blooms are usually on single stems or with several side buds. The flowers are very shapely, of medium sized or larger with many petals forming a central cone. They flower from late spring to autumn and make excellent cut flowers.  Floribunda roses are often said to be more colourful than the hybrid tea rose as their flowering is more profuse and they stand up to wet weather better, and are unrivalled for providing a colourful bedding display. The floribunda bears its flowers in clusters or trusses and several blooms open at one time in each cluster. It can be grown as a bush or as a standard rose and flower continuously from late spring to late autumn.

John McCartin was born in Sydney on March 9th 1954, and showed remarkable drawing ability at a young age and felt strangely attracted to the Australian landscape.  Painting as a hobby since 1974, John has now taken on landscape painting more seriously and on a professional basis since 1991.   He has been influenced greatly by artists such as Hans Heysen, Elioth Gruner and Arthur Streeton whose unpretentious works have inspired him over many years. In 2011 John won International Artist Magazines prestigious first prize, making him ‘Best artist in the world’.  It was a complete surprise to a humble John, yet a reward for the incredible artworks he produces.  As part of his prize, John was given the opportunity to travel and paint through the English countryside & through areas of Europe.  His six-week study tour created some amazing paintings, of which this is one.  John who lives in South Australia travels widely to capture his subjects, always making sketches and studies as he travels.  John has been described by many of Australia’s leading artists as one of the most talented artists in Australia and now the world agrees! John has won 115 international art awards and his paintings are excellent investments.