Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Kissing The Sky

Painting sunflowers was an assignment a few weeks ago in the acrylic/oil class I teach. This was a demo painting starting out with very simple paper cut out-like color shapes on a Mars Black painted stretched canvas. You can see some of the black peeking out. I think this helps to bump up the brightness of the colors. After I was finished with the paper cut outs, the sunflowers were taking on the look of a paint by numbers painting. But as I progressed to refine by softening edges and blending colors, that look was dampened. I am always challenged with big blue skies, but I like this one...praise be Brilliant Blue by Utrecht and Cobalt Teal by Liquitex plus some warm colors towards the right lower corner. I like growing the tall 12 footer sunflowers but the stubbies are kinda cool also.

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

Before I read the text, I looked at the painting and said to myself, ooh... those black edges are sweet. Black canvas eh? clever. Kind of reminded me of the ink resist - gouache thing we used to do in school.

A few years back, I planted a little forest of (100+) 12 tall sunflowers in my backyard. It was spectacular, but boy, come autumn, it was back breaking work ripping out the dead "trees". Now my backyard is a free for all jungle, but no sunflowers.

ANURAG MEHTA said...

Such a virtual sunflower David,The composition and treatment of painting is fantastic.

David Lobenberg said...

Terry: I figured you for a fellow 12' sunflower-planting geek but jeez, 100+?!

David Lobenberg said...

Thanks so much, Anurag!

Barbara Muir said...

Hi David,

I sat staring at this tonight. It's hard to do the best sunflower painting, but I think you've done it. Everything is just right. The colour of the sky and the flowers, the shapes, the energy. I see what the black does to the edges, and it's great.

Take care,

Barbara

Unknown said...

Hi David,
I really like the reflective glow inside several of the flowers - and the negative spaces created by the flowers against that big blue sky. I will have to remember the black canvas for when I start painting with oils! :-)

Mike said...

Hey Dave . . .Been lurking here but commenting infrequently. What is it about sunflowers that keeps us so fascinated with em? Simplicity? This is a great subject, but surprisingly difficult to bring to 'life.' It must be the yellow, eh? Nice jawb, Boss!

David Lobenberg said...

That's good to hear Barbara, and I'll tell you why. For the second year straight, I have had my acrylic /oil painting class paint sea shells that I hand out to them. In class last month my demo went so bad that I painted right over it (in class!). I failed last year as well. Now I'm a two year sea shell painting loser! Your comment on my sunflower painting is timely!

David Lobenberg said...

Mike: Read my reply to Barbara's comment...I'm a two time seashell painting loser, so it's good that I at least got these sunflowers right!

http://www.onpainting.wordpress.com said...

A very nice painting.

William K. Moore said...

They're alive! These jump off the board and grab the eyes by the root(z). Color, object proximity, POV - dynamic and not just another sunflower painting.

David Lobenberg said...

Thanks Onpainting!

David Lobenberg said...

Hey, thanks crazy Moore

David Lobenberg said...

Joanne: I forgot to respond to you!...sorry! I have been told that Karen Jurick starts a lot of her paintings on black canvas.

Sandy Maudlin said...

There are so many sunflower paintings - yet this one yanked my eyeballs right into it. Maybe the sky cause it's so well painted? The flowers are lively, seems like they're walking! Really like it a bunch!

David Lobenberg said...

Sandy: I think my secret ingredient for the sky is cobalt tiel. It's a very lively color and I notice that one of my fav. artists, Collen Page, uses a similar color a lot for his skies.

Jala Pfaff said...

I love the abstract qualities of this, as well as the color.

krishna pulkundwar said...

Hi David,
Your work always inspire me a lot.
i am also a abstract painter and a faculty member of j j institute of applied art, mumbai.please visit my blog www.krishnapulkundwar.blogspot.com
great work keep it up,

take care

krishna pulkundwar, mumbai, india

David Lobenberg said...

Thanks, Jala!

David Lobenberg said...

Krishna, Thank you fellow art teacher. I certainly will visit your blog.