Painting "Sunflowers and Nasturtiums"

Sunflowers

I have been busy in the garden this week. Tidying up, weeding and just soaking up the wonderful colours  and scents of  late Summer.
This year I grew some sunflowers, smaller than usual, about 2 ft in height and a selection of nasturtiums that meander through the foliage in a blaze of orange and red. They really light up the garden.
 I thought of how Van Gogh must have been enchanted by the bright, bold blooms of the sunflowers and how impossible it would be to let them fade away without painting them.
Well, I'm no Van Gogh but I'm going to paint them anyway!
 My version will include vivid red nasturtiums in a pretty painted jug.
Day one of my "Van Gogh" moment...NOTE...no ears were harmed in the creation of this painting ;)

Starting to paint in the first layers of the sunflower composition

I had a busy day today but still managed to get a bit more painting done. I've been making a start on the shadows and darker areas which has already made a big difference.

Many layers of paint build up to give the depth of colour

Finally after many more hours of painting I have come to the end of my Van Gogh moment. I wonder if he would have approved of my efforts?
                           "Sunflowers and Nasturtiums"
                                                   Acrylic on box canvas 16"x 20"x 1.5"

Colourful still life featuring sunflowers and nasturtiums

"Very Cherry Delight" Still life painting of cherries

No matter what the weather the first real signs of Summer are always the road side signs advertising "Fresh Cherries". It often seems that every lay by has it's own stand, adorned with a colourful sunshade and punnet upon punnet of fresh cherries.....yummy!
I've lived away from Sussex for 30 years and don't remember there being any cherry sellers before I moved,  Kent was always known for it's apples so I seem to be more aware of them where ever I go!Not only are they tasty but also colourful and a perfect subject for a still life painting.

                                               Acrylic on box canvas, 18"x 14"x 1.5"
                               "Very Cherry Delight"

Still life with cherries

BUY

                                 Work in progress....

Starting to paint in the cherries and scarf

                      3 cherries on a pretty Summer scarf. This painting will progress in layers as the colours of the scarf show through the weave of the top layer of fabric, the cherries will be several layers of reds, purples and black with highlighted reflections.

Adding more layers to the scarf

Done a little bit of everything today. First I added most of the weave lines then started to put in some shading on the fabric. More layers were added to the fruit and I've marked in where the highlights will go. Finally I put the first layers of paint on the stalks. Going to let it all dry overnight now.

The painting progresses and highlights are added

I've now nearly completed the scarf . More colour has been added to the stems of the fruit and I've started work on the reflections on the bottom of the cherries.

Painting in the reflections on the bottom of the cherries

All done....and very tasty they were too! :)