Wednesday, July 19, 2017

Urban Pinwheel - Radiant Group Show

Urban Pinwheel, 18 x 18, oil on canvas, L. Daniel © 2017
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I love that sunflowers come in many varieties. They are cultivated as a farm crop but they also make wild appearances along country roads and city highways. These untamed beauties were especially captivating to me, as they shimmered in juxtaposition to the hard lines of the cityscape in the distance. That contrast greatly enhanced the brilliance of the delicate flowers. 

One painting technique I used to depict "radiance" with these sunflowers, was to use an undertone in the brilliant areas. I did my block-in as usual, but before building up the values and color, I added passages of Indian Yellow where I wanted the color to pop later. Indian Yellow is transparent and can easily be used like a stain (if applied thinly and wiped out it's unobtrusive to subsequent layers.) I then continued to work from dark to light, as usual. That intense undertone not only saved the place of the brilliant areas, it helped to cast a radiant glow. (For purchase inquiries, please contact Kevin Ivester, kevin@davisgalleryaustin.com.)

Initial Sketch...

Block in with splash of Indian Yellow to mark the brilliant areas. 

Baby Watch Update: Our sweet baby granddaughter was born early Monday morning (on her due date), healthy and happy! What a great blessing and honor it is to be here, and to see this dear new life as she meets her family and the world for the first time! Her big brother is pretty taken with his new baby sister! Such JOY!!!!!

3 comments:

Gayle said...

Thank you for that great painting tip! Love the glow that it produces in the flower and leaves. Congratulations to your family for the arrival of your beautiful granddaughter - that was such a sweet picture with her big brother!

Barbara Muir said...

How lovely. You are amazing. Love your work and wish you a joyous time with
your family at this lovely event.

XOXOXOXOXO Barbara

Sharon L. Graves said...

Congrats on that sweet baby! Love the info you shared!