Sunflowers, Sunflowers, Sunflowers!

I have always loved Sunflowers. I will venture to say that they are my favorite flower. There is something bright, cheerful and invigorating about them. There are so many various types, colors and shapes and they are all so beautiful. It is amazing when you are driving through the Tuscan Region of Italy and you are surrounded by fields of Sunflowers on both sides.

This is a watercolor that I copied from a Shirley Trevena painting appropriately titled "Sunflowers" pictured on the left . I saw this in Hazel Sloan's "Flowers in Watercolour" book and I was immediately attracted to this painting. Her painting is a 4x4". The one that I have painted is 6x7". The picture on the right is my interpretation of her painting and my main reason I chose this was the loose style and the vibrant colors. It is a real challenge to get the colors just as they are in the original painting. As stated in other posts, when you copy other artists work, it helps you improve and I have seen the improvement with my own eyes over the last 2 months. The works I copy are for my own enjoyment and I use them as exercises to better my talents.

If you are interested in seeing more of Shirley's work you can visit her site at http://www.shirleytrevena.com/