Step-by-step guide to painting a sunflower on canvas

Double load the filbert in both cadmium yellow hue and primary yellow (about equal amounts).

How to Paint a Sunflower

This article was co-authored by Kelly Medford. Kelly Medford is an American painter based in Rome, Italy. She studied classical painting, drawing and printmaking both in the U.S. and in Italy. She works primarily en plein air on the streets of Rome, and also travels for private international collectors on commission. She founded Sketching Rome Tours in 2012 where she teaches sketchbook journaling to visitors of Rome. Kelly is a graduate of the Florence Academy of Art.

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When it comes to striking flowers, it’s hard to top sunflowers. With their impressive height and size, they tend to stick out in any landscape, which is probably why they make the ideal inspiration for artwork. If you’ve been wanting to paint a sunflower and are feeling a little intimidated, there’s no reason to fear. By drawing the sunflower first, you’ll have a guide all ready when it comes time to paint.

Steps

Part 1
Part 1 of 2:

Sketching the Sunflowers

• When you’re trying to decide how large to make your circle or “C,” take the size of the canvas into consideration, as well as many flowers you want in your finished painting. If you’re painting a single sunflower, you should probably make the center fairly large.
• If you’re creating a sideways sunflower, make sure to leave the oval open to create the “C” shape. You’ll use that open area to add petals.

• Make sure to vary the length of the petals and to create some that overlap.
• For the best looking sunflower, create at least two layers of petals. You can have the tips of the back row just peeking out over the first layer.
• If you’re creating a sunflower that faces forward, the petals will fairly large. On a sideways facing sunflower, the petals near the open area of the “C” will be smaller than the others that line the center.

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• Let the size of the sunflower’s size help guide the thickness of the stem. Larger blooms require a thicker stem to support them.

• Depending on the size of your sunflower, it may be enough to add one leaf to the stem. However, if the stem is very long, you may want to add multiple leaves, placing them on both sides.

• Keep in mind that background flowers will be smaller than the original flower, while those in the foreground should appear larger.
• You don’t have to add complete flowers. You can just sketch in top, bottom, or side of a sunflower to help fill out the painting.

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Part 2
Part 2 of 2:

Painting the Sunflowers

• It’s best to use artist’s archival tape to attach the transfer paper and drawing to the canvas because it is easy to remove and doesn’t leave any residue behind.
• Make sure that you position your transfer paper and drawing on the canvas in the exact spot that you want to paint your sunflowers.
• A mechanical pencil usually works best for tracing the drawing because you don’t have to worry about the point getting dull.

• If you’re using multiple colors of paint to get the right shade for the background, you can usually mix them directly on the canvas. However, if you’re making a drastic change, such as taking a color extremely dark or extremely light, you may want to mix the paint on a palette first so you can be sure to get the right color.

• If you don’t have a yellow or brown shade in acrylic paint that is light or bright enough to use as a base color, thinning a darker color with water can help lighten it. With oil or acrylic paint, you can mix in some white to lighten the yellow and brown shades.

Shade the petals and centers. To give your painting dimension, you’ll want to incorporate other shades of yellow on the petals. Shade some areas with mid-tone and dark yellows so the petals don’t look as flat. Do the same with the sunflower’s center by working in mid-tone dark shades of brown. [9] X Research source

• To decide where to use the darker shades, consider where the light would hit the flowers and where shadows might fall. You can also use a small amount of white on the petals to act as a highlight.
• Create subtle blending by placing two very similar shades right next to each other. For example, if you want the center of the petal to be a little darker, you might place the lightest yellow on the outside, then brush a slightly darker yellow next to that. Continue doing that all the way to the center of the petal. [10] X Expert Source

Finish the stem and leaves. The final step for your sunflower painting is to fill in the stems and leaves. You usually want at least two shades of green: a brighter green and a darker forest green shade. Use your smaller brush to fill in the stems and leaves to keep your strokes more precise. [11] X Research source

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References

1. ↑http://www.happyfamilyart.com/art-lessons/learn-to-draw/how-to-draw-sunflowers/
2. ↑http://www.happyfamilyart.com/art-lessons/learn-to-draw/how-to-draw-sunflowers/
3. ↑http://www.happyfamilyart.com/art-lessons/learn-to-draw/how-to-draw-sunflowers/
4. ↑http://www.happyfamilyart.com/art-lessons/learn-to-draw/how-to-draw-sunflowers/
5. ↑http://www.happyfamilyart.com/art-lessons/learn-to-draw/how-to-draw-sunflowers/
6. ↑http://www.art-is-fun.com/transfer-paper/
7. ↑http://www.happyfamilyart.com/art-lessons/learn-to-draw/how-to-draw-sunflowers/
8. ↑http://www.happyfamilyart.com/art-lessons/learn-to-draw/how-to-draw-sunflowers/
9. ↑https://www.bostonglobe.com/ideas/2014/06/27/how-paint-van-gogh-sunflowers-steps/rqThF6PWuYGCjiKKgAW5GJ/story.html

Download a PDF For This Tutorial!

This tutorial is available in my PDF shop! For only $5, you can download this tutorial in an ad-free PDF format, bonus sized traceables and the ability to download the video. Find out more!

This painting demonstration was done on an 11″ x 14″ canvas. I also did it on an 8″ x 10″ canvas.

The design itself is very versatile and can easily be done on a larger scale. If you are inching to paint on a large canvas then this is a great tutorial to do that on!

I chose ultramarine blue for the background because I love how the yellow pops with it! You can choose a different background color if you’d like and even omit the spirals.

I actually think a white background looks fabulous too!

Also, painting the sides of this canvas will give the sunflower painting a beautiful 3D effect of the petals extending around the canvas.

Happy Painting.

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See Also:

• How To Paint A Sunflower With A Quote

Yield: One 11 x 14 Canvas Or Any Size You Like

Learn how to paint a sunflower for beginners. This step by step guide will teach you how!

Active Time 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours

Materials

• 11 x 14 Canvas (This design can work on any size)
• Acrylic Paint
• Brushes
• Easel
• Jar Of Water
• Paper Towel

Colors

• Burnt Umber
• Cad Orange Hue
• Carbon Black (Or mars black)
• Cad Yellow Medium
• Primary Yellow
• Titanium White
• Ultramarine Blue

Brushes

• Filbert 1/2” (Or a 12 Bright)
• #4 Bright
• 5/0 Round
• 8 Round

SUNFLOWER PAINTING SUPPLIES

• 9″x12″ Canvas Paper* (taped to a sturdy surface)
• Tracing paper
• Charcoal pencil
• a reference photo

Brushes

• ¾” Flat Wash Brush
• #10 Flat Shader
• #10 Filbert
• #0 Detail Round

Acrylic Colors Used:

• Mars Black Acrylic Paint
• Titanium White Acrylic Paint
• Yellow Ochre Acrylic Paint
• Cerulean Blue Acrylic Paint
• Naphthol Crimson Acrylic Paint

Liquitex Basics? Use these colors:

• Mars Black Acrylic Paint
• Primary Red Acrylic Paint
• Primary Yellow Acrylic Paint
• Primary Blue Acrylic Paint
• Titanium White Acrylic Paint
• Acrylic Paint Basics Set

If you prefer to use burnt umber or brown paint, that is perfectly fine. Simply use those colors in lieu of mixing as provided in the following steps.

SUNFLOWER PAINTING STEPS

Follow these step-by-step instructions on how to paint your very own colorful sunflower painting.

Sunflower acrylic painting tutorial.

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Want the Full Tutorial + Traceable stencil (with no ads)?

If you want to get the entire step-by-step painting tutorial (without ads), printable supply list and stencil for 3 standard canvas sizes, check out this painting printable here in my shop.

STEP 1: Using a filbert dipped in water and load it with black paint. Go to the left-most center edge of the canvas and create your flower pupil (aka the center of the sunflower). Start by making a backward “C” shape that is about 3-4″ wide. Proceed to fill in the remainder of the pupil.

STEP 2: Now it’s time to make the base color of the sunflower petals. With a flat brush, combine your yellow color with a tiny bit of red to create a bright yellow-orange paint mix. Begin by place the tip or flat edge of the brush an inch above the center edge of the pupil and make one large arc going left to right. End the arc at about halfway across the canvas.

To complete the petal, make another arc from the petal tip back to the flower center, ending it an inch from the middle of the pupil edge. Once the shape is complete, fill in the petal with color, following the shape of the petal with your brush strokes.

STEP 3: Continue creating the rest of the petals around the pupil using this exact same arc technique with the yellow hue. Be sure to vary the shape and length of each petal for added gorgeousness.

You can even add petals in between other petals by creating two arcs from the centers of adjacent petals and filling it in with color.

Want to use a stencil instead? Using your sunflower traceable, place and trace onto your canvas paper. If you need directions on how to do this, read this helpful post on transferring stencils to paper.

STEP 4: With the same flat brush, go back to the yellow-orange mixture and add in a bit more red to create a dark yellow or orange paint.

Go to the bottom of your pupil and add in one petal pointing down. Repeat this by going to the top of the pupil and adding another petal pointing up.

STEP 5: Once you’ve added all your petals, use the same brush and color to add depth to the remainder of your petals.

Using the sides and tip of the brush, lightly add brush strokes starting from the pupil and work out to the petal tip, being sure to follow the shape of the petal.

STEP 6: With the same flat brush, mix in yellow, red, and a tiny bit of blue to create a maroon color (close to a brown shade). Then using the tip of your brush, start at the top-most petal and place the color starting at the border of each sunflower petal – to help give it the petal shape. Repeat with the bottom-most petal as well.

Then, using a feathering motion (aka light pressure on your brush), bring your brush to the edge where the petal meets the pupil and lightly brush the color onto each petal.

STEP 7: With the same color, add a bit more blue to create a deeper, darker color of maroon. Repeat the same steps of lightly feathering the color onto the petals to help create different shades of color and depth.

STEP 8: With your flat wash brush, mix yellow, a tiny bit of red and white paint.

Load the color onto your brush and begin blending the color onto each petal, making sure to follow the petal shape as you do so. Start about 1-2″ away from the pupil and blend out the color towards the petal tips. This will help soften the colors underneath and create a smoother looking blend.

STEP 9: Wait 5 minutes for your piece to dry. Then using your flat wash, mix the brightest yellow shade with a combo of yellow and white. Then load your brush and paint the color onto the middle and tips of each petal. Be sure to follow the shape of the petal with each stroke.

As a note: the more layers you add, you might begin to lose some of the contrast between each petal. Not to worry! All you need to do is mix red and yellow with a tiny bit of blue to make that maroon/deep orange color and reinforce those lines. Easy peasy.

STEP 10: Once you’re done applying your petal colors, it’s time to clean up the pupil. Using your filbert brush loaded with black, clean up the edges of your pupil- I decided to make mine even bigger too. Totally up to you.

Step 11: Now it’s time to paint the background. Of course, if you prefer the white background, then you can skip this step. But, I wanted to give my sunflower a bit more contrast with a painted background. Mix in a bit of blue and red with a little white to create a lavender color. Using your cleaned flat wash brush, proceed to paint in the surrounding areas of the canvas to create the background. This will help your petals to stand out.

Step 12: It’s finally time for the finishing touches. With a detail round brush (basically the smallest brush you got) dipped in white, begin to add lots of little dots inside the pupil. The more you add, the better and fuller your pupil will look.

Repeat this same step with your detail brush loaded with white and yellow as well.

Step 13: With the same detail brush, add some white highlights onto each of the petal edges. A few additional lines inside the petal could also be a nice touch as well. Then, as the final step, add more white dots around the pupil creating a magical look to your sunflower.

Step 14: Step back and admire how cool your painting looks. Back up, Van Gogh. This easy sunflower is blowing everyone out of the water.

This sunflower painting is a fun project any newbie artist will absolutely love and enjoy. The color layering creates a cool effect of the petals and gives your painting a quality that rivals that of a professional artist.