Tag Archives: sunburst

red blue yellow and orange kaleidoscope like sunburst acrylic painting

Painting Progression {how I made my sunburst painting}

red blue yellow and orange kaleidoscope like sunburst acrylic paintingI might have mentioned this before, but I have an obsession with watching people make things. It doesn’t matter what it is; a painting, a meal, a cabinet, a dress, I’ll immediately get sucked into it and can’t look away. People have walked in on me watching all sorts of odd things on TV, from woodworking to gun-making to pastry competitions. There’s something so interesting about watching somebody take raw materials and go from nothing to something absolutely amazing. When you look at the finished product you get that overwhelming feeling of “WOW, how on Earth did they do that?” but when you actually watch them go through the process you realize that it’s just a series of very small, often very precise steps. And a LOT of patience. And of course, a good bit of talent.

I especially love watching people paint. Maybe it goes back to watching Bob Ross on Saturday mornings as a kid (gotta love the happy little trees). Anyway, if you’re anything like me and you like to see the progression of something being made, then this post is for you. *

canvas with protractor, compass and circle template

Supplies! Tools are important when you're a fanatic about measurements.

white canvas with rough sketch of starburst shape

Sketching out the pattern. You can see the ghost of my failed painting underneath.

white canvas with starburst shape sketched in

Marvel at the same thing from another angle....

beginning of sunburst painting with red and yellow colored in

Red and yellow paint committed!

red yellow blue and orange sunburst kaliedoscope painting in process with art supplies

This one might look familiar. I wish I'd taken more in-between pictures.

red yellow orange and blue kaleidoscope like acrylic sunburst painting

Everyone loves a close up.

close up of acrylic kaleidoscope painting in red yellow range and blue

Super close up!

close up view of acrylic kaleidoscope painting in red yellow orange and blue

Another super close up!

*Remember when I said I was going to stop doing all these kaleidoscope paintings and work on other things for a while? Totally didn’t happen. The compulsion to make them is just too powerful. Who am I to deny it?  :)

Work in Progress {Sunburst Painting}

red orange navy and yellow sunburst painting with art supplies

It feels like it’s been forever since I’ve painted and today I remembered why…nap times are painfully short in this house! I managed to get in about twenty minutes, which was just enough to make me realize how far I really have to go on this particular piece. I started working on this little canvas a few years ago, hated the results, and gessoed over it to start fresh. I got a little work done on it, but then my daughter was born and painting time (along with sleeping, eating, and showering time) became very scarce. It got stuck in the garage when we moved, and I just dug it out this morning.

I guess at this rate you can stay tuned for its completion sometime around 2015.

detail show of navy red orange red and yellow kaleidoscope like painting