SunflowersSunflowers

 

A step-by-step painting project to create flowers using acrylic paint.

 

Materials

  • heavy white paper (I use white card stock), or canvas board
  • stiff paint brushes
  • water bowls and water
  • paper towels
  • Acrylic paint:
    • yellow
    • red
    • green
    • black
    • white
    • blue

SunflowersDirections

  1. Have students decide whether they want to put their paper “landscape” (sideways) or "portrait". Tell them they are going to start with the middles of the flowers. Watch first and then paint.

  2. Review techniques for painting with acrylic paint:
    • Always moisten brush in water first. Then pat the bristles dry on a paper towel before painting.
    • Rinse brush thoroughly before changing to a new color.
    • Rinse by rubbing brush on the bottom of cup and wiping on edge, NOT TAPPING.
    • Pat the bristles dry on paper towel before painting with new color.
    • Dip only the tip of the brush in paint (no more than half way up bristles). The ferrule (metal plate holding the bristles) must be completely free of paint! Otherwise it will drip on your hands and your work.
    • Wipe up any spills immediately with damp rag.
    • Hold the brush like a pencil for greater control.

  3. Paint 3 or 4 red circles spaced far apart. They should save room for the petals around them. Think about making a pleasing arrangement of circles. Don't put all of them in a straight line.

  4. Rinse and dry brush. Use yellow for the petals by stroking outward from middles. Load the paint brush with yellow paint. Put the tip of the paint brush just barely over the edge of the red circle. Pull the paint brush out from the red to create a petal. Lift the paint brush away from the paper as you reach the end of the petal. Some of the red will be pulled into the petals. Tell them this is cool! Always paint outward from the middle.

  5. Paint all of the petals for one center before going to the next flower. If the red paint dries before painting the petals on the next flower, add some more red paint. You want the centers to be wet while you are painting the petals.

  6. Rinse and dry the brush. Use a "dry brush" technique to create some small highlights on the petals. Load the brush with a small amount of white paint. Wipe the brush back and forth across a piece of scrap paper or paper towel until most of the paint is gone. Paint a thin line of white on the edge of each petal. Start near the center without going into the red, and stroke towards the end of the petal. Lift the brush away from the paper as you get to the end of the petal.

  7. Rinse and dry brush. Use green to create leaves, and stems if you want, by “dabbing” in a leaf shape.

  8. Rinse and dry the brush. Paint the background blue by dabbing in whatever is left white.

  9. Rinse and dry the brush. Add a tine bit of black paint to the very tip of the brush. Paint some small dots of black in the red centers.