Sunflowers in Vase — A child's take on three-dimensionality

On 6 August 2014, when my son Xan and I were fetching vegetables from Jiřího z Poděbrad Farmers’ Market (Prague 2), Xan asked if we could buy sunflowers, too. “My favourite flowers are sunflowers because they are yellow and beautiful. Sunflowers are tall as well”, said Xan. I think most people would agree with that. 

Later that day we took photographs of the sunflowers from different angles, just in case Xan, or his little brother Bob, would like to draw them later. Previously, the brothers had drawn vegetables, that we had bought from the market, so I thought this time would be the same. Indeed, it was! On 9 August, Xan started his sunflower project, and by 28 September we had the painting framed and hung on the wall. (A photo of the framed painting and a video of the project can be found at the end of this blog post). 

We printed the photographs we had taken earlier on, and Xan was also using a tablet as he could zoom in to see the details. On a stretched canvas, Xan started to carefully draw the outlines of the sunflowers in vase.   

Xan drawing outlines with a pencil.

Next, he started using thick acrylic paints (Akademie Acryl by Schmincke). First, he painted a thin layer, and then he applied more paint to go for a 3D look. At Nielsen there was these examples of use of paint.  

Xan wanted to test new techniques, especially three-dimensional effects as his teacher Ms Drummond had taught the class how to shade 3D shapes. Well, flowers are also 3D, so why not! 

So, Xan added some gravel on the acrylic paint to replicate the tiny florets (or miniature flowers) of the sunflower’s head. 

Xan highlighted some details with a gold-coloured acrylic paint. If you look at carefully, you can see some gold in the contours of the vase and on the head of the sunflower. We bought a small bottle of a golden coloured acrylic paint that came with a nozzle from Globus hypermarket in the outskirts of Prague. 

The original picture and Xan's painting.

After the completion of the painting, he got carried away and made a dinosaur and a coffee cup out of clay. Nurture children’s creativity, and they will come up with fantastic ideas! 

We have framed all our children's paintings at Nielsen as they have the best choice of frames. 

Please watch this video to see the steps.