- 1). Locate a sunflower reference. Place a cut sunflower in water, study a sunflower outdoors or use a photo. Add a direct light source to the setting for contrast if needed.
- 2). Plan the composition of your painting. You can paint one large flower or several in a bunch. Study the size of the flowers in relation to each other to aid the layout of the flowers on the canvas.
- 3). Create a quick, light sketch of the outline of the sunflowers onto a primed artist canvas using a pencil. Sketch the under petals of the flower that peek between the front petals. Then sketch the heart-shaped leaves of the plant. Sketch a circle in the middle of the petals to define the round center of the flower.
- 4). Paint the background. For a bright blue-sky effect, paint a medium blue color to fill the entire background, painting around the outline of the flowers you sketched. Then dry brush blue in one shade darker along the outer edges of the canvas by dipping the brush in the paint and then brushing off excess on a paper towel. Blend the dark with the medium blue by feathering the dry brush where the colors meet.
- 5). Paint the middle hues of the flower petals with a mid-tone yellow paint, filling in the entire petal with color. Paint in thin layers. Wipe off excess paint from the brush, and feather along the edges where you stop painting. Allow the paint to dry for at least one hour.
- 6). Paint the dark hues of the flower petals. Your dark hues will be in the areas shaded from the light. Study the plant and squint your eyes to see the dark areas. Dry brush the dark yellow color, and feather the brush lightly where the dark meets the medium hues to blend the colors. Allow the paint to dry for at least one hour.
- 7). Paint the highlights of the flower petals. The highlights are the brightest areas where the light is reflecting. Paint highlights with small strokes of a bright yellow color, feathering the brush to blend the paint with the other yellow hues.
- 8). Paint the round center of the flower with a medium brown paint. Paint around the outer edge of the circle by dabbing small dots of paint to create texture that will blend the center with the petals. Allow the paint to dry for at least one hour. Dab small dots of dark brown to paint the seeds in the center of the sunflower. Dab light brown and medium yellow to create highlights.
- 9). Paint the leaves and the stem of the flower, using three shades of green to represent the middle, dark and light hues of the leaves.
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