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Painting Flowers: With Artist Daily
Painting Flowers: With Artist Daily
painting
flowers
with artist daily:
Dynamic
Action
is an important element in any
type of painting. here i discuss
the concept as it relates to
floral composition.
by J am es Sul k ow sk i
I
paint from nature, from life. With my
subject in front of me, I can observe
the fall of light upon it, as well as any
atmospheric effects surrounding it. I can
also look for the larger concepts of form,
shape, and movement in my compositions
that will make for an interesting painting. For
example, if one of my florals is taken out of focus,
a larger shape will generally emerge. A bouquet
of flowers becomes a spherical shape, or an egg
shape, or even an S-shape; and although the
individual flowers are important, each is subordi-
nate to the larger shape, concept, or idea.
Renaissance artists relied on a few solid, basic
compositional elements—including the cube, the
triangle, and the sphere—and built their figure
compositions, portraits, and still lifes on these sta- Above
Valentine Bouquet
ble formulae. The Baroque period of the 17th cen-
1991, oil, 20 x 16.
tury stressed movement in sweeping diagonals, Collection Mr. and Mrs.
as well as with the S-shape design tool. This is Peter Stipanovich.
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painting flowers
with artist daily
above
Rhododendron
I like to build a design around a dynamic action 2001, oil, 20 x 24.
line. In the following examples you will see that some- Collection Mrs.
Ruth Gilson.
times, like the Dutch masters, I will make use of the
right
S—or even a backward S—as in my painting Valentine The dynamic action
Bouquet. Note how in this painting the eye follows the line traces an
light. It moves through the design from the yellow S-shape from the
background to the
flowers on the left to the pink, orange, violet, pink, foremost flowers.
and then white flowers, before continuing down and
across the composition to pick up the stem of the rose
that lies on the table, ending at its tip. The surround-
ing flowers echo, or repeat, in darker colors and tonal
This content has been abridged from an original article written by James Sulkowski. This premium has been published by Interweave Press,
201 E. Fourth St., Loveland, CO 80537-5655; (970) 669-7672. Copyright © 2006 by Interweave Press, a division of Aspire Media, all
rights reserved. The contents of this publication may not be reproduced either in whole or in part without consent of the copyright owner.
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painting flowers
with artist daily
right
Glory of
Summer
2001, oil, 20 x 18.
Collection Mr. and
Mrs. Louis Anthony.
below
Here, a spherical
concept is
enhanced by “the
waterfall effect.”
intensity as it trails off to end in the and light in the background gives deepest darks as accents for the final
foreground leaf. The spiral, or vortex, added power to the design. touches—often found in the center of a
radiates outward from the center-most In all of my paintings I use rich col- floral bouquet.
flower, which contains the brightest oration and backgrounds that enhance Floral composition should not be
whites of the painting. Once again the featured bouquet by creating depth static, dull, or boring. The painting
the light pattern relates to the overall through the progressions of light and concepts I’ve outlined here allow the
design of the composition. shadow. I also pay attention to lost artist great freedoms in creating a work.
In Hydrangeas and Roses the dynam- and found edges, which are critical to Exploring different techniques of paint
ic action emanates from the focus of conjuring atmosphere and a sense of application, such as using thick or thin
light, which is also at the center of space. As I paint, I lay in the middle paint and different brush sizes, also
the piece. The leaves, stems, flowers, tones and local colors; and as the paint- gives the artist tremendous creative
and twigs are all arranged in a spiral ing develops, I build the lights, as options that yield results as individual
to create a vibrant and lively motion. well as the darks. I prefer to use the as handwriting. And of course, all artists
Here again, the progression of shadow full range of the palette, reserving the should paint with a loaded brush! n
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with artist daily
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