Next, I mix a darker yellow color that acts as the shadow area on the left side of the petal. On the last row of the chart below you can see the mixture needed for the darker yellow color. First I mix yellow with an adequate amount of purple to make the color darker in value. After this the yellow will most likely become a little green. To counter this, I mix a small amount of red with the greenish yellow color. Since red is the complementary color of green it will help to lessen the green that is present in the color – it will make it more of a dark golden yellow.
SUNFLOWER Painting Tutorial
Enjoy this fun painting tutorial with Silke from Heart for Art. This online tutorial is taken from her live lesson where she shows you step by step how to create your Sunflower masterpiece.
Join her ONLINE to paint, unwind and find your creativity. She’ll give you step by step guidance to create your own Sunflower painting. At the end of your tutorial you’ll have a massive smile and your own finished masterpiece. It’s totally easy, and you don’t need any experience.
All our painting tutorials are super easy to follow and perfect for all ages – Kids and adults.
G ather your supplies and get ready to have a tonne of creative fun.
What to expect:
- A fun online painting tutorial led by our artist.
- Find your creativity. Everyone has it. We’ll help you find yours.
- Feel your stress melt away. Art is super therapeutic so you’ll feel yourself unwind as you paint.
- No pressure Push pause as often as you need so you can paint at your own pace.
- A finished painting to hang on your wall so you can say “Wow I painted that” every time you see it.
- A massive smile on your face. Painting makes you feel good so you’ll put a big ‘happy deposit’ in your wellbeing account.
- 24/7 lifetime access to your tutorial.
- A 3 hour step by step guided video tutorial that breaks down our Sunflower painting, making it easy for anyone to follow.
- Reference photo.
- Supply and paint colour list.
- Tracer for lettering (optional)
That’s what these ladies thought, until they painted with us!
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Learn how to paint a Sunflower with our easy to follow flower painting tutorial, all from the comfort of home!
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Sunflower Painting Supplies
We created the sunflower color by mixing a bit of yellow and orange acrylic paint to get a sunny golden yellow. If you happen to have that color use it! You will also need brown and black paint. Have some water handy and a nice fine liner brush. I even trimmed mine a bit to make it even smaller! How small just depends on the size you are painting your sunflower.
How to Paint a Sunflower Step-by-Step
Below you will find step by step images on how to create this design. There is a full video tutorial after if you are looking for more details or tips!
We started with a washed out golden yellow around the outer edge of our sunflower. Line first and color in if you don’t want it bleeding over the edges of your flower. I got this washed out look by adding a bit of water to my paint. With you liner brush mix brown and black with a bit of water. Create the center of your flower and the first petals. Leaving space between.
Start adding in petals between your first layers and then even more behind. Start adding some strokes of brown up into the petals. Next, with a bit more black added to your brown start add a second layer closer to the center. Keep these strokes nice and loose.
Now to work on the center. Leave your brown bit washed out so that you get lots of different layers of color between the brown and black. Working from the center out place down brown lines using the side of your brush. Then dab black at the tips near the petal edge.
Then repeat again closer to the center. Keep working between the brown and black until the center of your flower is filled.
Protect your Sunflower Rock
- If you are using this tutorial to paint a rock, make sure to seal your painted rocks before putting them out into the world!
Want to see a few more details? Watch the full video tutorial below!
How to Paint Sunflowers with Strong Shadow Shapes
Sunflowers are composed of strong shapes and therefore it is important to pay close attention to all of the shadow shapes found in a sunflower.
I build the painting based on light and dark shadow shapes. Notice in the image above that the petals of the sunflower are all made up of these light and dark value shapes. The same is true for the green leaves that are at the base of the flower. Looking at and observing a subject in an abstract way, seeing it in terms of its value shapes. Makes for a much more compelling painting, rather than seeing a subject as “just an object”.
How to Mix and Use Supporting Colors
A yellow sunflower painting wouldn’t be very interesting without the supporting colors that surround it. This is why we have a background and foreground area. It is important when learning how to paint sunflowers, for these areas to be just as part of the painting as the sunflower itself. You would never want the subject to look or feel like a paper cutout.
Painting the sunflower’s background with shades of blue
First of all the blue background changes slightly at different points in the painting. It is important to not just paint a background a single color as this would not look natural. However, for the upper left part of the painting I mixed up the blue color there with a simple mixture of ultramarine blue and cadmium orange with a small amount of white.
Mixing Colors for the vase of the sunflower
The glass vase that the sunflower is sitting in also serves as a supporting color for the painting. It is a greenish bluish color – though much lighter than the background. To mix up the color I used blue, cadmium orange, a small amount of purple, veronese green and white.
Completing Your Sunflower Painting
For the final stage of the painting I paint in the areas where the white of the canvas were still showing through. I also go over edges that might need to be softer or harder.
Another great tip, is to take a step back from your painting as you near completion. This will allow you to get a clearer perspective of your painting, and see if you’re missing any large areas of light and dark values.
There you have it! Let me know in the comments below about what you find most interesting and/or most challenging about painting sunflowers or even flowers in general.
Materials used in this tutorial
- Cadmium Yellow
- Cadmium Lemon Yellow
- Provence Violet Bluish
- Cadmium Green
- Dioxazine Purple
- Alizarin Crimson
- Pthalo Green
- Cremnitz White
- Ultramarine blue
Additional flower painting and drawing resources for you to try:
- How to paint a rose step by step tutorial [with video]
- Drawing a rose complete guide
- How to paint a tulip video tutorial
- How to draw a flowers sketch
