a TAMM creations - evolution of a painting

a TAMM creation

Normally when I decide that I want to do a new painting, I just grab a canvas and go.  Today, I had an inspiration to do something for Fall. It was chilly here today, in fact with the windows open and the breeze blowing into the house, I actually had on a long-sleeve t-shirt!

This time, instead of just opening the paints and going, I grabbed a 12*12 stretched canvas and I did a pencil sketch of what I was thinking in my mind... 

Step One:

I sketched out a Sunflower motif. If you haven't figured it out, this is my favorite flower motif to use. I love the petals and the simplicity of the flower, but at the same time, I can use any color I want on it and it looks great!!

Then I did the background. Another first for me - I did it in this baby blue. I started out doing all my paintings on a very pale, almost watercolor background (it actually was because I watered the paint down a lot to get just a hint of color to the background).  The next progression in my painting growth was to use a bold, bright blue as my background, and I loved the pop that it gave the flowers.  Today though, I just didn't feel that either of those was going to work for this fall flower I had in mind. So I was looking through my huge storage tub of paints, and I came across the baby blue and decided that was the perfect background.

Step Two:

I started with the center. For a sunflower it has to be a brown base coat.  I also used the brown to put down some vein lines in some of the petals.

Now I may have started the middle with a simple brown, but after a few coats a layer of yellow was added, then more coats of brown until just the right hint of the yellow peaked through and it looked like that deep, rich, multi-seeded middle of a sunflower. 

Then to really give it that seeded look and to do something completely different, I covered the center in a light layer of fine glitter! Yes I did! Just enough to catch the light from across the room and give the painting dimension. 

 Step Three: 

Now we are getting into the petals. I started with the ones that will appear to be in the back layer of the flower petals and I went with a bright orange. Light layers of the orange, then a very little bit of the brown in the center of the petals, and another couple of layers of orange, and I finally had what I liked.

The closer layer of petals were done in a bright yellow, not a lemon yellow, but a golden yellow.  Same way, two or three layers of yellow, then a light layer of the orange in the very middle of the petals closest to the center, and then more yellow until it was perfect.

Step Four:

Here is where I allowed it time to dry.

Then I went back in with a little brown on a dry brush and brought out those veins in the orange petals. I also went back around the outside edge of every petal to make sure it was clean and didn't look wonky.

Lastly I added the glitter in the middle and allowed it to dry again.

The last step was to sign and date the back! Now its all ready to be photographed and listed in the store!!