Learn Oil Painting: Step-By-Step Guide to Painting a Beautiful Bunch of Flowers

Hello!
Today we are going to paint the bright and colorful still-life with the sunflowers and the guelder bunches. I have called this composition «First autumn sounds» or «The feeling of autumn». These flowers and berries have been soaking up the warmth and the sun all summer long in order to show us all their beauty at the end of a summer.

Due to its warm and sunny colors this still-life will give a piece of the summer happiness to us every time when we look at it.

So let`s start our still life art lesson. And first let`s make the background for our composition. As far as we want to express the summer warmth, we will use the following warm colors:

• English Red
• Raw Sienna
• Burnt Umber
• Cadmium Red,
• Cadmium Yellow and
• a little Cobalt Violet,
• a bit of White

All of these paints can be used for the background. First apply the light layer of the paint thinner on the canvas using a big flat brush, thus the paints will be easily applied and mixed with each other. Then apply the paints using the same brush and quickly spread them over the canvas surface. The layer of the paint should not be transparent. Make the chaotic movements stretching the paint to the sides. Here is one more important moment – it is better to make the background a little dark and then make it lighter where necessary.

And here are some more useful painting art ideas:
the shadows and the dark paints look much better and more natural if they are applied in a thin layer;
in the oil painting the well-lit objects are set on the foreground and become brighter due to the densely applied paint.
During our online oil painting lesson we will put these rules and techniques into practice when painting the flowers, dishes, leaves, tablecloth and background.
So we have made the background: applied and spread the dense layer of the abovementioned paints over the canvas.

Sometimes there happen to be the situations when you have to change the initial decisions made during your working process. It is important to step back from the painting and to look at your picture sideways: to evaluate the results and to notice the mistakes in time in order to correct them and also to focus your attention on the most important and auspicious moments.
Whatever background you have made for your masterpiece, you still need to place the basic elements of the composition and to apply the paint.

Now at this stage of our free oil painting lesson you will learn how to do it: remove the excess paint with a cloth and mark the main objects of our still-life at the same time. Remove the excess paint and outline the skyline, the rounded shape of a jar placed in the center, the brightest sunflowers and the leaves.
After you have removed the excess paint in the places where you are going to paint the flowers and the berries, you can apply the paint. You can do it any way you want: with a brush, palette knife or fingers.
At this setting stage of the work we already can follow up the abovementioned rule «of painting the shadow and the lighten objects in the oil painting » in practice.

Draw the well-lit leaves set on the foreground with a dense layer of the paint – the Cadmium Yellow mixed with the White. The objects which are set in the shadow on the background should be painted with a light layer of the paint (Ochre Gold, Raw Sienna, Cadmium Yellow mixed with Burnt Umber and so on).

Mark the green leaves and the berries:
Finalize the guelder haulm, the edges of the leaves and the guelder branches with berries. Thus the neat thin lines are easily made and look quite naturally.

The next step of this drawing art lesson is sketching out the shadows:

The shadows from the flowers on the wall and the tablecloth and the shadows from the guelder grapes – all these gives the great volume to our still-life. Draw the shadows with the Burnt Umber, the Cobalt Violet and the Lake Pigment Red strong.

The berries and the leaves scattered on the table will add more space to our painting and make it more interesting to the contemplator.

Also you can add the beauty to your still-life drawing the lace on the tablecloth; moreover it is easy to paint: remove the small pieces of fabric (paint) from the smooth tablecloth (the White) and get the pattern on it.
Improve the shape of the leaves, berries, flowers, flecks and shadows one more time.

Look at the canvas with your work, estimate the result and correct everything you want.

That is all. The painting will be finished as soon as you are satisfied with your result and it produces the necessary emotions. Thus our free painting lesson is over.

I wish all of you good luck and new success in your creative work!