Sunflower #27

Sunflower #27, Acrylic on Watercolor Paper, 10"x9", NFS

Day 30 of the Challenge.  I made it!  This is the last sunflower for a bit although I do plan to go back to some of the ones I did to see what I can do to them to make them better.  There's nothing better than a little time and a fresh look to find ways to improve things.

A big thank you to everyone that followed my journey.  I think I learned a lot and some of what I learned will surely find its way into upcoming work. 

Sunflower #26

Sunflower #26, Acrylic on Watercolor Paper, 10"x9", NFS

Day 29 of the 30 Day Challenge.  Today I tried Julie Ford Oliver's idea for spurring creativity (look for her post here.)  It's a great idea but obviously requires a bit of practice to get to work really well.  This is my second attempt today - the first one went in the trash.  This one worked reasonably well but I think it would have worked better if I had made the value pattern a bit lighter - the one I made overwhelmed the subsequent layers of paint.

Sunflower #25

Sunflower #25, Acrylic on Watercolor Paper, 14.5"x8", $150

Day 28 of the 30 Day Challenge.  I took another shot at this composition but used a palette knife this time. I like this rendition quite a lot. 

Two more days of the challenge and then a short break. I am finding September to be a lot harder than January for a 30 day challenge, although life intervenes in January, too. 

Sunflower #24

Sunflower #24, Acrylic on Watercolor Paper, 14.5"x8", NFS

Day 27 of the 30 Day Challenge.  Almost there.  In this painting I thought that a different aspect ratio might help with the composition, and I think it does. But I clearly haven't thought through all of the parts of the concept.  So I am putting this aside until after the challenge when I will have a bit more time to think about options and how they might affect the overall result.

Sunflower #23

Sunflower #23, Acrylic on Watercolor Paper, 10"x9", NFS

Day 26 of the 30 Day Challenge.  This painting isn't as fresh as the last one but the composition is better. Maybe I can combine the two attributes in the next one. I'm enjoying the looseness of the look of this paintings even as I curse the unforgiving nature of the technique, although I have to admit to using some gesso to give me a little more flexibility.

I've been in crazy mode this week - contractors are coming to install some new windows early next week and since it is too late in the year to paint windows once they're installed, I have been doing them in the cellar. I'm sure you're familiar with the drill - tape, prime, paint the first coat, paint the second coat, remove tape, scrape paint off glass - very time consuming. Then I have to clear out the flower gardens under the windows to give the contractors access to some bare ground for their ladders. The result is great looking windows but no painting yesterday.

Sunflower #22

Sunflower #22, Acrylic on Watercolor Paper, 10"x9", NFS

Day 24 of the Thirty Day Challenge.  I like this painting for its looseness and energy.  Plus it's just plain fun - fun to do and fun to look at. It does have some compositional and execution problems though.  So I plan to revisit this idea again.  To get the color effects I used more of a watercolor approach to applying the color. It's very transparent, so no room for rethinking anything.

Sunflower #21

Sunflower #21, Acrylic on Watercolor Paper, 7"x14", $100

Day 23 of the 30 Day Challenge. I'm a little low on time and energy today, so I went for something simple and cheery.  Tomorrow I'll go back to experimentation.

To purchase this painting, please click here. You will find yourself on the 30 Day Challenge page on my web site.