Tag Archives: Winifred Whitfield Sunflower Oil Paintings

Rays of Light

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Golden Rays of Light 16×20 Oil Painting by Winifred Whitfield

I had hoped to have my “Guatemalan Man” painting completed to post today but I’ve been so busy framing a large number of paintings to finally hang on my walls. Actually, friends who are good at that kind of thing are coming over to help – in fact, coming over to lead the effort. That’s why I’ve not finished the “man’s” painting. I want to, I really like it quite a lot. I’ll post it soon.

I think this this floral has good energy in it’s expressive petal strokes. I like the way it “feels”and looks. I hope you enjoy it. It’s framed in a 5 inch wide antique frame I purchased at an estate sale recently which gives it lots of presence. There was a wonderful beveled glass mirror in the frame which I removed. It’s just perfect. I don’t intend to begin a new still life for awhile.

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Sunflowers, Sunshine and Blood Oranges

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Sunflowers and Blood Oranges 20 x 24 Oil Painting by Winifred

In my last post I shared the initial paint sketch, for the above painting I had in mind. It was part of a process which really makes a positive difference, though I rarely follow it. A large sketch – about 11×14 was created, followed by the small painting to test color and design (see previous post). The test painting was a long and skinny. I then did a vine charcoal sketch on my 20x 30 inch panel. This required altering the aspect ratio from the small test painting, but knew I could manage this. The idea was not to make the final painting identical to the small painting. I painted the full 20 x 30 painting, which I like, but have decided to crop it to 20×24. Both versions work but the cropped is just a little more impactful. This is my largest painting to date. I will be creating more. Hope you enjoy. Thank you, Winifred

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Back to Painting Sunflowers

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Sunflowers with Oranges 5×12 Oil Painting – by Winifred

My Venice paintings were rather complex – not to say, sunflowers are not challenging, but painting them brings a smile. The above oil painting was particularly enjoyable and was created from imagination. I created quite a lot of paintings from imagination when I painted digitally. I felt I had less to risk if I screwed up. I could throw away a layer – only part of the image, and make corrections. I feel great joy when I look at the above painting, which hopefully means I’ll create more.

Sunflowers in Red Vase -8×10 Oil Painting – by Winifred
Golden Sunflowers – 9×12 oil painting by Winifred
9×12 Impasto Oil Painting of Sunflowers – by Winifred

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Trying Something New

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Sunflowers Against Red Oil Painting by Winifred 11×14 on Panel

The first paintings and the one below represent a very recent new technique I am trying.  I spread onto my panel a relatively thick layer of  material to serve as an underpainting and then carved my image into it with the and of a brush or palette knife. At that point you can create additionally as much or as little texture through out.  I allowed it to dry for 2 months. I then painted in the dark outline surrounding each element before beginning to paint with loose imprecise  brush strokes and palette knife. 

Sunflower with Fuchsia 11×14 Oil Painting by Winifred

 I have created paintings ranging from those as precise as photographs to loose bold  painting strokes and texture like these.  This is one of my favorite styles.  I am very excited about this process and I love the results.  One of the wonderful things about oil painting is that you can never say you are done with learning and experimenting.  It’s endless, if you’re a curious person who loves to try new things and I am one of those people.  

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Sunflower Seeds and Stems on a Brick

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11×14 Oil Painting on a Panel

Sunflower Stem and Seeds Oil Painting by Winifred

Not long ago, I paint sunflowers with petals drooping and falling off.

This time, I decided to create a sunflower painting at a stage when all it’s yellow petals had dropped. What you see is the rather stiff green bract, located behind the petals. I find every aspect of the sunflower’s structure and development beautiful and quite fascinating. Initially I set up a single flower head, but two provided much more interest. For this still life set up, I used sunlight  beaming through my window blinds to provide dramatic light.  I’m pretty happy with the painting. I may have it cut it to a square in order to alter the design so the bottom flower is not dead center.  Hope you like it.

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