Impasto Sunflower

SUPPLIES & TOOLS:

• Liquitex Heavy Body Acrylic Colors:
• Titanium White (Item #3404449)
• Ultramarine Blue Green Shade (Item #17592494)
• Yellow Medium Azo (Item #17594177)
• Raw Sienna (Item #3404324)
• Liquitex Flexible Modeling Paste (Item #3413614)
• 10"x 10" Canvas (pre-primed)
• Liquitex Palette Knife, Size 12 (Item #17597402), or something similar
• Liquitex Round Brush, Size 4 (Item #17530478), or something similar
• Palette Paper
• Paper Towels
• Optional: Gloves

DIRECTIONS:

1. Prepare work surface and assemble supplies
2. Squeeze out about 1/2 teaspoon of Ultramarine blue directly onto the canvas.
3. Brush out the Ultramarine blue leaving a white quarter circle in one corner of the canvas
4. Scoop out several piles of Flexible Modeling Paste onto the palette paper. Use about 1/4 cup for the first pile, 2 tablespoons for the second pile, and 2 tablespoons for the third pile.
5. Next, squeeze out about 1 tablespoon of the Yellow Medium Azo next to the largest amount of Flexible Modeling Paste.
6. Squeeze out about 1 teaspoon of the white next to the second amount of Flexible Modeling Paste.
7. Squeeze out about 1 teaspoon of the Raw Sienna next to the last pile of Flexible Modeling Paste.
8. Now mix color into each pile, cleaning the knife in between colors.
9. Feel free to turn the canvas as needing to position the knife to create the first sunflower petal with the yellow mix.
10. Start on one edge of the canvas, and use the knife to create a rough outline of the petal shape.
11. Fill in the petal shape with the yellow mix. Be sure to drag the knife along the length of the petal.
12. Tip: Don't be afraid to really pile on the yellow to create the petals. The Flexible Modeling Paste will hold its dimension nicely and help the sunflower visually pop up from the surface.
13. Continue adding petals in a radiating, or open fan pattern. Create about 8 petals of varying length and width.
14. Next, take the Raw Sienna mix and begin to apply some line work on the edges of some of the petals. Focus at the center of sunflower and work to the tip.
15. Blend some of the Raw Sienna mix onto the rest of a few of the petals to give depth of color.
16. Take about 1 part of the yellow mixture and add it to 1 part of the Titanium White mixture. Then use this lighter yellow to create the highlights on each petal. Some petals will have more, some less.
17. Next, mix about 2 parts of the Raw Sienna mix with 1-part Ultramarine blue. This mix will create a darker brown. If it's too blue, add more Raw Sienna.
18. Take the Raw Sienna and Flexible Modeling Paste mix (the lighter brown) and fill in the remaining corner of the canvas to create the center of the sunflower. Be sure to dab the paint to create a uniform bumpy texture.
19. Then, take some of the darker brown and dot it onto some of the lighter brown to add interest. Put more of the darker brown in the corner and less on the outer edge of the light brown area.
20. Take some of the lighter yellow and dot it on the edge where the brown center meets the yellow petals.

JOANN HACKS:

• If you have any messy parts of the petals, take some Ultramarine blue with a brush, and paint over the yellow as needed. This helps create a clean edge between the petals and the blue background.