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Celebrating Vincent van Gogh's Sunflowers
Van Gogh: Poets and Lovers
Vincent van Gogh's use of yellow in his paintings was both a technical and symbolic choice, reflecting his emotional state and artistic goals. He employed vibrant yellows to convey warmth, light, and vitality, particularly evident in works like "Sunflowers" and "The Yellow House." Yellow, for Van Gogh, represented happiness, hope and gratitude, often contrasting with the darker tones he used to depict his struggles with mental health.
The intensity of yellow allowed him to capture the luminosity of the southern French sun and the essence of the landscapes around him. His innovative and expressive use of this colour played a crucial role in his ability to evoke mood and emotion, making his work resonate powerfully with viewers.
Vincent van Gogh painted the sunflower series for several reasons, reflecting his artistic ambitions, emotional states, and practical needs. One primary motivation was to decorate the Yellow House in Arles, where he planned to establish an artists' colony with his friend and fellow artist Paul Gauguin. The sunflowers were intended to create a welcoming and cheerful atmosphere, symbolising friendship and hope.
Vincent van Gogh, The Arles Sunflowers, August 1888 (First Version)
Additionally, Van Gogh was fascinated by the vibrant colour and dynamic forms of sunflowers, which allowed him to explore his bold use of colour and expressive brushwork. The series also represented a significant step in his artistic development, demonstrating his ability to convey emotion and meaning through still life. By repeatedly returning to the sunflower motif, Van Gogh could experiment with variations in composition, light, and colour, pushing the boundaries of his technique and style.
Overall, the sunflower paintings are a testament to Van Gogh's innovative approach and his desire to infuse his work with personal significance and universal themes of beauty and resilience. Van Gogh painted his series of Sunflowers in less than a week. His feverish anticipation of his friend's visit can be seen in every brush stroke.
The ‘Sunflower’ series of paintings by Van Gogh has inspired us to create our own themed painting using a variety of techniques, with our own ARTdiscount products.
Recreating Vincent van Gogh's sunflowers using acrylic paint can be a fun and rewarding project. We have listed below how we created ours to inspire you to create your artwork.
Materials needed:
- Canvas (pre-stretched or canvas board) or thick mixed media paper or paper for acrylic paints.
- Heavy Body Acrylic Paints: we used ARTdiscount STUDIO Heavy Body
Yellow Middle, Lemon Yellow Hue, Yellow Ochre, Orange, Vandyke Brown, Titanium White, Zinc White, Lake Blue, Prussian Blue, Cerulean Blue, Phthalo Blue, Phthalo Green, Sap Green, Crimson, Vermillion Hue, Ultramarine Blue. - Palette Knives: Different shapes and sizes (at least one small pointed knife and one medium-sized one for this project) ARTessentials Palette Knife Set for Oils and Acrylics - 5 Piece or Daler-Rowney System3 Painting Palette Knives Set.
- Palette (for mixing paint) Royal & Langnickel Palette Paper - 9 x 12", Daler-Rowney Stay-Wet Palette, Daler-Rowney Tear-off Palette.
- Water (for cleaning knives and diluting paint)
- Paper Towels or Rags (for cleaning knives)
- Pencil (for sketching)
- Acrylic Paint Brushes; Choose from a great selection of brushes, ARTdiscount Acrylic Brush Set of 5 Brushes, ARTdiscount Pro Oil & Acrylic Round Brush Set of 7, ARTdiscount Pro Oil & Acrylic Filbert Brush Set of 6, ARTdiscount Pro Oil & Acrylic Flat Brush Set of 6.
- Large Acrylic paint brush for spreading large amounts of ground colour onto the canvas; Daler-Rowney System3 - Short Handled Skyflow Brush - SY278 .
How we created our sunflower painting:
Set up your workspace:
Lay out your materials and equipment and ensure you have a comfortable, dust free and well-lit space to work in. Cover all surfaces with a protective sheet. We used ARTdiscount Studio heavy body paints on an A1 sized canvas board. Colours: Phthalo Blue, Lake Blue, Cobalt Blue, Ultramarine, Vandyke Brown, Phthalo Green, Sap Green, Magenta, Crimson, Yellow Middle, Lemon Yellow Hue, Yellow Ochre, Orange and Titanium White.
Background/ underpainting layer:
For a thin semi transparent layer, dilute your acrylic paint with a little water and GOLDEN GAC100 - Acrylic Primer and Extender or Winsor & Newton Professional Acrylic Flow Improver, this will enable you to create a diluted thin consistency for a base colour without underbinding the paint. If you would like to create a thicker impasto, apply your heavy body paints straight from the tubes, this will create more of a thick textured effect similar to Van Gogh’s background, (you can also add a thicker impasto later on in the painting).
Use a large palette knife to apply and spread a background colour or a large soft brush onto the canvas. Van Gogh often used contrasting colours to make his subjects pop, so consider a light blue or teal background. Apply the paint in broad strokes, allowing for some textural strokes to show in the paint surface.
Sketch the outline:
Once your background colour is dry, lightly sketch the basic shapes of the sunflowers on your canvas with a pencil or a small round brush using a darker colour than the ground colour. Focus on the placement of the flowers, stems, and leaves. Keep the sketch simple, paint the outline of the shapes of the sunflower heads and stems, you don’t need to paint every petal at this stage.
We chose a blue and yellow bottle to paint rather than a vase. Lightly suggest where the cast shadow will be.
Block out the shape of the bottle and the ellipses for the sunflower heads and cast shadows:
We blocked out the shape of the bottle and the cast shadow by using a soft brush and a purple blue glaze.
Once the bottle shape had been blocked out we then applied a thick impasto of paint with a palette knife.
We mixed Cobalt Blue and Ultramarine Blue and a little bit of Lake Blue. When laying down the blue pigments consider working with the dark values first then lay down the light values on top, to form the 3 dimensional shape for the bottle. To darken the blue pigments we used a very small amount of Vandyke Brown.
Spreading the acrylic paint with a palette knife allows the colours to naturally mix together on the canvas, thus providing a textured and layered effect. Keep the pallet knife relatively flat when spreading the colour over the canvas, working down from the top to the bottom of the bottle. Aim to create some highlights in the centre of the bottle or just off centre.
When you mix up the colours for the sunflowers, you can then add the stem inside the bottle, then glaze a blue pigment over the top to make it look like it is inside the bottle.
Base colours for sunflowers:
We started by laying down some dark orange brown tones for the middle of the Sunflower. We mixed various hues, Yellow Middle, Lemon Yellow hue, Orange and Vandyke Brown and applied them with a palette knife thickly, using the sgraffito (scraping) technique whilst the paint was still wet to provide some detailing and texture and allowing the base colour to come through in places.
Build up layers of colours for the centre of the sunflower:
Using a small brush or small palette knife, place lots of warm tones in the centre of the sunflower. We used Magenta and Orange and Yellow Ochre. Tone it down if it gets too bright with a darker Green colour or Vandyke Brown. To create a rough, textured centre, use the tip of a palette knife and sgraffito techniques of scraping or use a small brush and dabbing technique.
Base colour for petals
We applied some base colours thinly using a soft brush, light petals and darker petals, then added the thicker paint for texture over the top with the palette knife. Using the edge of your palette knife to apply the thicker impasto colours, hold the knife at a slight angle and use a sweeping motion to create the petal shapes. Don’t worry about getting every petal perfect; Van Gogh’s style was expressive and textured. If you feel you have applied too much paint or need to modify the amount of texture, go over the area with a soft acrylic brush to blend and smooth out the paint.
Contrasts of light and dark, thick and thin paint.
Once you have laid the base colours down, you can add further lighter tones of Yellow and Orange to the petals, building on top of the muted darker tones. We worked from dark to light. If you decide you have gone too light with the tones you can knock the brightness down with thin glazes of Orange and Vandyke brown.
Add depth and texture:
Add darker shades of yellow and orange to the petals at the base to create depth. Use the tip of the palette knife to dab on paint, creating texture. Add lighter tints of yellow to the tips of the petals to suggest form and light.
For the smaller linear details we used a small round brush to add a few descriptive lines to the inner and outer petals.
Painting the stems and leaves:
Mix various shades of green for the stems and leaves. Lighter tones at the tip of the leaf and darker tones closer to the petals and underneath. Add some yellow and orange colours, to suggest reflections, especially on the glass bottle and edges of leaves.
Use the edge and flat part of the knife to create the stems. Apply the paint in long, fluid strokes.
For the leaves, use the knife to create broad, and textured strokes.
Then add small details with either the tip of the palette knife and the sgraffito technique or with a small round brush.
Add highlights and shadows by mixing different shades of green. Remember to add some cast shadow under the stems.
Refining the flowers:
Add highlights to the petals using lighter shades of yellow and white, but don’t use pure white straight from the tube, always aim to mix the highlight colour with yellow to create a tint. Use the edge of the knife for a thick impasto or a flat or round brush to gently apply these highlights for a softer look. Adding at least several tones will give the petals a three-dimensional look.
Use glazes of Vandyke brown and orange to create shadows for the under petals.
Creating reflections in the glass bottle:
Whilst creating the petals for the sunflowers, aim to add small dots of the same colour onto the rim of the bottle where there would naturally be a reflection. Some reflected colours may be curved in shape as the bottle curves at the top. If you have a vase, notice where the light falls and where the reflected colour from the leaves or petals are.
Final touches:
Step back and observe your painting. Add any final details or adjustments as needed.
Ensure that the edges of the petals and leaves are well-defined if you want a crisp finish and that there is enough contrast to make the flowers stand out against your background. If you prefer a more textured background similar to Van Gogh’s Sunflower paintings, use a broad brush loaded with paint and work your brush strokes vertically and horizontally to create a patchwork of texture. The table on which Van Gogh's vase stands is also highly textured, illustrated beautifully by the directional brush strokes of varying size and tones he has used.
Our painting is a work in progress! The background and foreground has yet to be finalised, there is a lot of texture in the petals and bottles so we may leave the background with a softer finish to balance out the composition.
On reflection we decided to add another bottle to balance the composition. Working in the same way as the first bottle. Start by creating a linear structure first, then blocking out the shape with thin glazes of colour. We applied thicker paint with a palette knife to create the same interesting texture as in the first bottle; see below for some progress photos.
It is advised to wait at least two weeks for the painting to dry fully before you apply the isolation coat and varnish. This will ensure even the thicker impasto paint is dry also.
Base colours were applied in thin glazes
Building up layers with a palette knife.
Finishing layers and highlights were applied with a palette knife.
Tips:
- Practice knife and brush techniques: Spend some time practising different strokes and techniques with your palette knife and brushes on a separate piece of canvas or paper
- Experiment with colours: Don’t be afraid to mix and experiment with colours to get the desired shades. Mix your colours with a palette knife to make sure they are fully intermixed. Experiment with different glazes over thick impasto.
- Keep it loose: Van Gogh’s style was not about precision but about expressive, bold strokes. Practice mark making, with your palette knife and a brush, long and short, thick and thin, directional and overlapping. Embrace imperfections and have fun with the process.
Techniques used:
- Sgraffito and mark making
- Contrast of colour
- Contrast of light and dark
- Contrast of saturated and unsaturated colours
- Contrast of complementary colours
- Contrast of shapes and contour lines
- Thick and thin impasto; use of thick and thin applications of paint, glazes over thick impasto and thick impasto over glazes
Most importantly enjoy creating your version of the famous Sunflowers!
Vincent used these colours below;
In his sunflower paintings, Vincent van Gogh used a range of vibrant and earthy colours to capture the beauty and vitality of the flowers. Some of the key colours he would have used included:
Yellow Ochre, Chrome Yellow, Prussian Blue, Viridian Green, Burnt Umber, Cadmium Yellow, Vermilion, Phthalo Blue, Raw Sienna, Titanium White
These colours allowed Van Gogh to achieve the rich, warm tones and dynamic contrasts that make his sunflower series so striking and memorable. We have curated a list of products below that will aid you on your creative journey towards your Sunflower masterpiece!
Perfect products and pigments in oils, acrylics, inks and watercolours.
Oil paint
Bob Ross Landscape Oil Colours - 37ml
Winsor & Newton Artists' Oil Colour 37ml Series 4
Winsor & Newton Artists' Oil Colour 200ml Series 1
Winsor & Newton Artisan Water Mixable Oil Colour Tubes 37ml Series 2
Winsor & Newton Artists' Oil Colour 37ml Series 4 Cadmium Free
Yellow, Red and Orange Acrylic paint links:
Yellow, Red and Orange Watercolour paints and inks:
Daler-Rowney FW Artists Ink Individual Colours - 29.5ml Bottles
With ARTdiscount's vibrant acrylics, quality brushes, and versatile palette knives, creating your own sunflower masterpiece inspired by Van Gogh becomes a joyful journey, bringing the timeless beauty of nature into your unique artistic expression.
We hope you have found this article useful and informative, please share your creations on our social media site using the hashtag #colouringthenation.
The National Gallery NG200 - Van Gogh: Poets and Lovers
14 September 2024 - 19 January 2025
Tickets now available, booking through to 13 October.
Be blown away by Van Gogh’s most spectacular paintings in our once-in-a-century exhibition.
Walk with a pair of lovers beneath a starry night.
Look up at swirling clouds and cypress trees swaying in the wind. Stay a little while in Van Gogh’s favourite park, the ‘Poet’s Garden’, or under a shady tree in Saint-Rémy.
We’re bringing together your most loved of Van Gogh’s paintings from across the globe, some of which are rarely seen in public.
They will be paired together with his extraordinary drawings.
Over just two years in the south of France, Van Gogh revolutionised his style in a symphony of poetic colour and texture. He was inspired by poets, writers and artists. We look at this time in Arles and Saint-Rémy as a decisive period in his career. His desire to tell stories produced a landscape of poetic imagination and romantic love on an ambitious scale.
See up-close his ‘Starry Night over the Rhône’ (1888, Musée d’Orsay) and ‘The Yellow House’ (1888, Van Gogh Museum), as well as our own ‘Sunflowers’ (1888) and ‘Van Gogh's Chair’ (1889), among many others.
Join the National Gallery in celebrating our 200th birthday with Van Gogh’s ‘Poets and Lovers’.