Poppies in the Sun

Poppies in the Sun by Andrew Daniel

12" x 12" oil on canvas

Contact artist

This month I participated in a group show at Upstairs Gallery at Umpqua Bank in Arcata. Initially I really struggled with coming up with the right source photo, but finally settled on Poppies because they have such vibrant colors and make such interesting compositions when their shapes interact. I showed up an hour late to the hanging with a painting that was crazy with wet spackled on paint everywhere. 

Trying to nail on a homemade frame to a wet painting like this was no easy task! 

Anyway, the painting seemed to open up some sense of direction that I wanted to explore. It had been very narrow in it's color range, mostly yellows and sky blue.

Sorry I don't have a picture, I was in too much of a hurry to drop it off.

I had made a dynamic composition, with lots of movement and texture, but ultimately, I just wanted something more. 

So I painted this piece. I started with a bright pink gesso layer, so that I could have more colors showing, as they come through the paint. I then focused on bring more economical with my brushwork so that I could allow more pinks to show. Also I had chosen a source that had more colors to start with and as I painted it, I focused on mixing lots of warm and cool versions of each color. 

The piece evolved very quickly and I got really excited, thinking I could replicate and expand on what I had learned, I tried a new one straight off. However that one bombed...