Whirlygig Sunflower Blossom
12" x 12" work in progress

Have you ever seen a more funky sunflower blossom? I sure haven't! This one was full of attitude, and I couldn't wait to get that down on canvas!


My daughter was the one who gave me the idea of calling it a Whirlygig. I am thinking that Windmill would also  suit the shape and movement of the leaves...which name do you like for this painting?


Once this one is finished, I will post it for you to see. It too will be sold at my Studio Art Sale, which is just over 2 weeks away! You can check out all that will be for sale, and the prices, at my website: www.joannegiesbrecht.com  Any piece can be pre-sold, so if one interests you, don't hesitate to contact me so that you don't lose out! 

SUNFLOWER BLOSSOM and SUNFLOWER SERIES

SUNFLOWER BLOSSOM

15" x 15" acrylic on standard canvas

Okay - I didn't make my Friday deadline for posting this flower - but I was really, really close! This is the final sunflower in this series for a while as I have no more 15" x 15" canvasses! (Oh! oh! I just received a sale flyer from my favorite art store and canvas is ON SALE!!!! Wahoo!!! Maybe I'll be doing some more of these sooner than I thought!!!!) Hmmm, I may need to try other flowers as I need to wait until big sunflowers are in season again to get some different reference photos and ideas!

Here you can see the 3 paintings side by side. They look gorgeous all together!

If you are interested in purchasing any of these paintings, please contact me at jogiesbrecht@gmail.com They are $400 each.

Sunflower in progress - getting somewhere!

NOW you can see where this sunflower blossom is headed... it is actually beginning to look like something! I've done the background, and have put a few glazes on most of the leaves and stem. Now it is a matter of finishing those and creating more contrast in the petals as well as highlights. This is the stage I begin to get excited. This is the point where the potential for the painting is pretty clear - and I am really liking this blossom!

You might think that I used black paint for the background, but I hardly ever use black out of a tube except to finish the edges of a painting for hanging without a frame. Nope - this "black" is a combination of red, blue and green - mixing until it was the depth of color I needed to set off the yellows and oranges of the sunflower petals.

The next posting of this painting should be the finished product. Check back on Friday to see it completed. :-)

New Acrylic Sunflower Painting - on the easel

An acrylic painting in progress - 15" x 15" sunflower

This is the UGLY stage... when the first streaky layers show the underpainting, and background is just barely there to show the outline of petals. I don't think I've ever shown an acrylic in this early stage online before. It's because at this point, I am never sure if I can get the painting to somewhere close to what is in my mind. And of course, failure is not an option! (At least that's what I tell myself!)

I have worked more on the upper petals of the sunflower than the rest of the painting, so I can begin to see the possibilities coming to life. But this is the UGLY stage. And I really dislike this stage. It's like a baby being born with dry and wrinkled skin... in a few days the dryness is gone, and the beautiful baby skin appears. In a few days, I am hoping the beauty of these petals will appear on this canvas, and the ugly will be gone. Meanwhile, I'm thinking ahead to see what is not yet there, and to overlook what is there!

SUNFLOWER BLOSSOM

Bed-Head Blossom

15" x 15" original acrylic on standard canvas

Getting a true representation of canvas paintings can be very tricky. It bothers me that the background in this picture looks washed out compared with the actual painting - but I don't have the time to try to get a better picture, and it is too large for my scanner, so this will have to do!

I was going to call this painting "Sunflower Blossom", but after a visit on my blog from Dean Grey, I have changed its name. Dean said he liked the "bed-head look" of this flower, and I liked that description so much I have changed the name of the painting! It is now "Bed-Head Blossom". Thanks, Dean! (If you haven't checked out Dean's work, he has 2 blogs... you really should visit him here and here.)

This is the second in a series of paintings of Sunflowers. You can see the first one here. I am going to do another 15" x 15" piece, and then a few in other sizes. By the time I finish with this series, I may have grown enough new sunflowers that I can get more reference photos and start all over again! (insert insane delusional laughter here)

I also picked up some other flowers recently that I will be painting soon - some in acrylic, some in oils.

For those of you who have asked - yes, I will be returning to painting in watercolors. I may do some smaller pieces over the next few weeks. Right now though, I am trying to get as many of these acrylics completed as I can before spring. I am also planning on a few oils, and then I will go back to my work on watercolor paintings which have a poured background. Baby Giraffe, African Beast and African Elephant all have that technique for their backgrounds, and I have several more planned. These will be larger watercolors, and will take quite a bit of time to complete.

In the meantime, I am hoping for more beautiful weather where I can get out and walk in relatively "warm" temperatures. I keep thinking that spring is not all that far away, calendar-wise. But I am not wishing my days away... each ordinary day is truly a gift, even if it is cold.

AGLOW

AGLOW

15" x 15" acrylic on canvas

$400

This is my first completed canvas for 2010, and I am so pleased with how it has turned out. The sense of sunlight and translucent petals is exactly what I was working toward. Lately I have been thinking of seeds, and soil, plants, and gardening - so I think this painting is my subconscious desire for spring to already be here. I talked with my good friend Donna today, and she said that it looks like spring is coming early on the coast this year. A tree in her neighbour's yard already has flowers on it! Of course, that's not good when the Olympics need snow, not rain, for their events!

I plan to do several sunflowers in varying sizes of canvasses this year. Sunflowers are one of the most loved flowers worldwide. There is something cheery in their big bright faces...

(And don't worry, you will see the completed Agave paintings within the next couple of weeks.) :-)

If you are interested in purchasing this painting, contact me at jogiesbrecht@gmail.com