I had this idea, took notes, and painted sunflowers loosely inspired by Van Gogh.

Here is my process.

When I say loosely inspired, here’s what I mean. I am using the loose brushstrokes and color mixing ideas to paint my version of Sunflowers. Van Gogh has his style, you have yours, and I have mine. The big idea is to play in a creative space where there is no right or wrong.

My Simplified Process

Who is Van Gogh? What are the techniques that he used?

Van Gogh was a Post-Impressionist painter who expressed his emotional and spiritual state in his work. One of his most famous works is Starry Night. His art was interpreted by his mind, eyes, and heart. His artwork is filled with bright colors, texture, and rhythm. He mixed various yellows to paint his sunflowers. I can relate to painting with a great passion for the beauty of nature, and I had to paint sunflowers.

Explore Van Gogh’s techniques and mix various tones of yellow.

For my painting, I used three colors: Cadmium Yellow, Pthalo Blue, and Crimson Red. With these colors, I was able to get lovely yellows, oranges, greens, browns, and blues.

Paint!

I told myself this painting is going to be nothing like the original. I am going to have fun and enjoy the process. I am realizing that in art, it is all about the process, the making, versus thinking about the end result.

There was a point where I worried because I wanted to write a post about this project. Then I let go of my brush, let the soft brushstrokes happen, and painted how nature makes me feel. Works many of the times!

I have my warm, colorful sunflowers, and the projects that came because I painted sunflowers. Now I have all these yellows and blues that I can mix up better!

Printable Project Kits?

I hope you like this idea and paint your version.

I am going to create a kit. The kit will include a summary of Van Gogh and his techniques, an exploration page with notes to help you explore his techniques, and two printable sketches of Sunflowers. One is a simple bouquet similar to my painting, and the other sketch is one big sunflower. That way, students of all levels can print the kit and have a fun painting session. What about a painting party? You could do that! These printable kits are inspired by the best artists I know, the kids I teach. We can learn from them!

I will be giving away a PDF of this kit to my subscribers. Make sure you subscribe so you can get the kit for free. At some point, I will sell it for like $4 on Etsy.

Thank you for being here. Thank you for reading. I have tons of ideas.