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.
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.
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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.
Such a virtual sunflower David,The composition and treatment of painting is fantastic.
Terry: I figured you for a fellow 12' sunflower-planting geek but jeez, 100+?!
Thanks so much, Anurag!
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
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! :-)
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!
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!
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!
A very nice painting.
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.
Thanks Onpainting!
Hey, thanks crazy Moore
Joanne: I forgot to respond to you!...sorry! I have been told that Karen Jurick starts a lot of her paintings on black canvas.
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!
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.
I love the abstract qualities of this, as well as the color.
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
Thanks, Jala!
Krishna, Thank you fellow art teacher. I certainly will visit your blog.
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