Summer Sunflower Chickadee

4x6 watercolor on 140 lb Canson cold press paper done last week. I first did an underpainting using the three primaries. When dry, the drawing/sketch was done over the painted area and then developed. This miniature is based on two other chickadees and sunflowers already painted and sold. COPYRIGHT 2023 Kay Smith

Blazing Sunflower Sky

9x12 watercolor on Canson 140 lb cold press paper done a few weeks ago, focusing on a sunflower backside and the sky rather than its center. In this imaginary floral scene I've used both cool and warm colors for the sky and its everchanging landscape. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Black-Capped Chickadee on Sunflower

6x12 watercolor on Strathmore 140 lb cold press paper done today from a compilation of my nature and bird photos. Maybe I'm wishing for autumn or fall to hurry up and get here with some cooler temps. At any rate, this chickadee is snacking on black sunflower seeds from a spent plant. COPYRIGHT 2020 Kay Smith

Funky Flowers

6x13 mixed media collage on paper done today.  Over an alcohol ink underpainting I collaged white and patterned tissue paper and part of a cocktail napkin. When dry, I stamped blue acrylic using a round bottle lid, then color in floral shapes was added using a 1" flat sponge brush in acrylics.  Part of the inks show through. Lastly oil pastels were used as graphic accent marks.
COPYRIGHT 2020 Kay Smith

Flowers in Round Red Vase

4x6 mixed media on paper done today, an imaginary floral still life of acrylics over alcohol inks.  The ink version was too abstract so the flower idea was done with a mixed gray on right side for the background and left side is inks as is the red vase.
COPYRIGHT 2020 Kay Smith

Lunchtime Sunflower and Bird

7x4.25 watercolor and ink line, sketched with Micron 01 pen, another magazine card featuring a bird, a woodpecker, eating sunflower seeds.  I used gouache in a few spots and repositioned the bird's left leg at a better angle.
Image COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Odessa Sunflower - demo today

15x22 watercolor on Kilimanjaro 140 lb cold press paper done today for the Odessa Texas Art Association live demo program.  I photographed the sunflower in 2003 in that town as Leada Wood and I were traveling for an art meeting; many other photos from that day have been painted but not this one.  About 1.5 hours was the time limit.  This is wet on dry using 1" flat sable brush and these pigments:  Quinacridones burnt orange and gold, Prussian, ultramarine and Bice blues, arylide and cadmium yellows, and new gamboge.  A very wet Blue Bice (American Journey) hue was the main background color.  As an opaque, it had to be thinner.  Note the two small lavender and brown shaded moths.
Image is COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Sunset Colors Sunflower

6x6 watercolor/ink depiction of mature red sunflower with sunset colors of orange, pink, red and yellow petals.  This was yesterday's daily painting done before starting on a torn paper collage coffee mug that will be a WIP (work in progress) for my blog here.
Image is COPYRIGHT 2014 Kay Smith.

Last Sunflower

6x6 watercolor and Micron 01 pen sketch of one of the last studio sunflowers planted in August.  They were photographed in various stages of growth for future references.  With this painting done yesterday I tried to focus more on the background and let that be its focus although strongest value is its head of seeds.  Petals and leaves were left alone for the most part.  When dry I used a tiny stencil to letter sunflower lower left.
Image is COPYRIGHT 2013 Kay Smith.

Sunflower Bee

8x5.5 watercolor on Strathmore Visual journal paper, drawn and painted yesterday while in the mountains; this one is currently in our Watermedia challenge for July on WetCanvas in which we are studying insects.
Image is COPYRIGHT 2013 Kay Smith.

Spent Sunflower

9 x12 watercolor on Canson 140 lb cold press paper, drawn yesterday and painted today from a photo I took years ago.  I've added more color to its head as the photo was more white after birds had picked seeds.  Since we got snow today, a sunflower and blue sky were just perfect subjects to paint.