How to paint paper mache rose So I created this paper mache rose.



As you can see, it's not very large. As you also can see, it still has the colour of newspaper. Now, roses in newspaper colour aren't very pretty, so I'd like to change that. What is the best approach to apply some paint? What type of paint would work best?Several things to take into account:


Paint is wet, and I want to apply it without changing (ruining) the shape of the rose completely.
The petals of the rose don't have much space between them; still I want to cover as much as possible with paint.


Would dipping be an option? Should I apply a different approach for the flower, and the leaves and stem?
If you have a dual-action airbrush and a volatile pigment like alcohol inks, you can spray the rose from a distance at low pressure with a high air-to-paint ratio.  The low pressure will keep the air jet from damaging the rose while the distance and high air-to-paint ration would allow the volatile ink to be almost dry by the time it hits.  

Experiment with this technique by trying to paint tissue paper without ripping it.

A low tech equivalent to this technique would be spray paint at double the prescribed distance with a strong tail wind or electric fan running behind you.