presents

painting
flowers
with artist daily:

How to Paint Flowers

and Create Dynamic
Action in Floral Painting
painting flowers
with artist daily

Dynamic
Action
is an important element in any
type of painting. here i discuss
the concept as it relates to
floral composition.
by J am es Sul k ow sk i

I
paint from nature, from life. With my
subject in front of me, I can observe
the fall of light upon it, as well as any
atmospheric effects surrounding it. I can
also look for the larger concepts of form,
shape, and movement in my compositions
that will make for an interesting painting. For
example, if one of my florals is taken out of focus,
a larger shape will generally emerge. A bouquet
of flowers becomes a spherical shape, or an egg
shape, or even an S-shape; and although the
individual flowers are important, each is subordi-
nate to the larger shape, concept, or idea.
Renaissance artists relied on a few solid, basic
compositional elementsincluding the cube, the
triangle, and the sphereand built their figure
compositions, portraits, and still lifes on these sta- Above

Valentine Bouquet
ble formulae. The Baroque period of the 17th cen-
1991, oil, 20 x 16.
tury stressed movement in sweeping diagonals, Collection Mr. and Mrs.
as well as with the S-shape design tool. This is Peter Stipanovich.

the approach that appeals to me. Dutch masters, right

Here, a dynamic action
including Jan Davidsz de Heem (1606ca. 1684) linein the form of a
and Rachel Ruysch (16641750), incorporated backward Smoves
through the design from
these principles into their painting; studying their the yellow flowers to the
work can be enormously helpful. tip of the rose.

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painting flowers
with artist daily

above

Rhododendron
I like to build a design around a dynamic action 2001, oil, 20 x 24.
line. In the following examples you will see that some- Collection Mrs.
Ruth Gilson.
times, like the Dutch masters, I will make use of the
right
Sor even a backward Sas in my painting Valentine The dynamic action
Bouquet. Note how in this painting the eye follows the line traces an
light. It moves through the design from the yellow S-shape from the
background to the
flowers on the left to the pink, orange, violet, pink, foremost flowers.
and then white flowers, before continuing down and
across the composition to pick up the stem of the rose
that lies on the table, ending at its tip. The surround-
ing flowers echo, or repeat, in darker colors and tonal

This content has been abridged from an original article written by James Sulkowski. This premium has been published by Interweave Press,
201 E. Fourth St., Loveland, CO 80537-5655; (970) 669-7672. Copyright 2006 by Interweave Press, a division of Aspire Media, all
rights reserved. The contents of this publication may not be reproduced either in whole or in part without consent of the copyright owner.

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painting flowers
with artist daily

values, the rhythm of the light just

described. I used the tiny daisies and
yellow buds to add sparkle and extra
vitality to this painting.
Another design shape that I use
results in what I call the waterfall
effect. In Glory of Summer I built a
composition around a spherical con-
cept that I enhanced with a waterfall
of light and shape in the flowers, as
well as in the vines. Here the white
roses draw the eye into the composi-
tion before leading the viewer out
toward the pinks and yellows, and
above
then eventually to the light and shad- source. I placed the cooler violet flowers (made with a com-
Cascade
ows that pour outward in the shape of bination of alizarin crimson, ultramarine blue, and white) of Color
the vines. on the far left, which allows them to merge with the darker 2003, oil, 40 x 30.
Courtesy Sulkowski
In Lilacs the arrangement follows violet mixtures of the shadows. The golden yellows in the Fine Art Gallery,
the dynamic action of the Baroque background and foreground add complementary impact to Canonsburg,
Pennsylvania.
diagonal. The cone-shape lilac stems the design of the painting.
complement this concept, which the The action in Cascade of Color should be easy to discern. top left
The sweeping action
white flowers enhance. The flowers In this work I created a sweeping motion throughout the in this painting is
radiate light outward and to the right, composition, which I enhanced with the incorporation of enhanced by the
incorporation of light.
in keeping with my left-hand light light. There are actually three vases of flowers in the paint-

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painting flowers
with artist daily

ing, as well as a grapevine. With the light source

coming from the left, the yellow and red-violet
flowers on the right stand out brilliantly. The
dynamic action begins on the left with the grape
leaves, leading the eye up and through the design,
before sweeping down again to focus on the light
and finally on the leaves.
Sometimes I will use more right
than one design concept, The Baroque diagonal
as in Rhododendron, which is illustrated here,
where flowers radiate
makes use of an Sas well as light outward and to
a spiral shape. The dynamic- the right.

action line traces the floral below

from the background through Lilacs

2002, oil, 16 x 20.
the flowers bursting into the Collection Mr. and
light, before it diminishes in Mrs. Bryan Pizzi.

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painting flowers
with artist daily

right

Glory of
Summer
2001, oil, 20 x 18.
Collection Mr. and
Mrs. Louis Anthony.

below
Here, a spherical
concept is
enhanced by the
waterfall effect.

intensity as it trails off to end in the
foreground leaf. The spiral, or vortex,
radiates outward from the center-most
flower, which contains the brightest
whites of the painting. Once again
the light pattern relates to the overall
design of the composition.
In Hydrangeas and Roses the dynam-
ic action emanates from the focus of
light, which is also at the center of
the piece. The leaves, stems, flowers,
and twigs are all arranged in a spiral
to create a vibrant and lively motion.
Here again, the progression of shadow
and light in the background gives
added power to the design.
In all of my paintings I use rich col-
oration and backgrounds that enhance
the featured bouquet by creating depth
through the progressions of light and
shadow. I also pay attention to lost
and found edges, which are critical to
conjuring atmosphere and a sense of
space. As I paint, I lay in the middle
tones and local colors; and as the paint-
ing develops, I build the lights, as
well as the darks. I prefer to use the
full range of the palette, reserving the
deepest darks as accents for the final
touchesoften found in the center of a
floral bouquet.
Floral composition should not be
static, dull, or boring. The painting
concepts Ive outlined here allow the
artist great freedoms in creating a work.
Exploring different techniques of paint
application, such as using thick or thin
paint and different brush sizes, also
gives the artist tremendous creative
options that yield results as individual
as handwriting. And of course, all artists
should paint with a loaded brush!  n

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painting flowers
with artist daily
about the artist
James Sulkowski studied at
the Pennsylvania Academy of the
Fine Arts, in Philadelphia; Carnegie
Mellon, in Pittsburgh; and with
Frank Mason at the Arts Students
League of New York, in Manhattan.
In 1994, Sulkowski opened the
Sulkowski Academy of Fine Arts,
in Houston, Pennsylvania, where
he taught classical painting; today
above top he teaches national workshops. He
Action cycles from Hydrangeas has won many awards in national
the center of this and Roses exhibitions, including the Helen
piece, yielding a 2004, oil, 18 x
lively composition. DeCozen Award for Best Floral
24. Collection Dr.
and Mrs. Adam Painting in the American Artists
Grossman. Professional League 64th Grand
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National; and he is included in
The Best of Flower Painting, by
Kathryn Kipp (North Light Books,
Cincinnati, Ohio). Sulkowski con-
tinues to exhibit widely and is
currently represented by Dassin
Gallery, in Los Angeles; Godwin-
Lundquist Gallery, in Great
Barrington, Massachusetts; and
Sulkowski Fine Art Gallery, in
Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. For
more information on Sulkowski,
his workshop schedule, or his
videos, visit www.jamessulkowski.
com; or e-mail the artist at
james.sulkowski@verizon.net.
 You Can Achieve the
Results of the Professional Artist
Robin Lee Makowski

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