Acrylic Paint Tutorial: How to Paint a Sunflower Scene Step by Step

What You’ll Need

To create this sunflower scene, you'll need:

• Castle Arts Oil & Acrylic Paper 9" x 12"
• Castle Arts 48 Piece Acrylic Paint Set 
• Paint brushes (large flat, small filbert, round, and small detail brush)
• A cup of water
• Paper towels (to wipe brush after cleaning)
• Palette or plate

Estimated time to paint: 2 hours

Colours used: (feel free to pick your own!):
Titanium White, Lemon Yellow, Cadmium Yellow, Yellow Ochre, Yellow Ochre Deep, Burnt Sienna, Burnt Umber, Van Dyck Brown, Prussian Blue, Lamp Black, Sap Green, Hooker's Green, Davy's Gray, Grenadine, Light Gray Blue.

Step 1

To begin our acrylic painting, we’ll start by creating the background. Using a large flat brush, mix Davy’s Gray, Light Gray Blue, and Titanium White. Apply this mixture to the top quarter of the page using smooth, left-to-right strokes to paint the sky.

Next, work on the grass. Use a mix of Sap Green, Hooker’s Green, and Lemon Yellow. Begin at the bottom of the page, applying the darker greens first. As you move upward, gradually add more Lemon Yellow to create an ombre effect. Continue painting until you reach about three-quarters up the page, where the grass meets the sky.

Step 2

Now, let’s add some clouds to the sky. Start by mixing a pale, dusty pink using Grenadine, Davy’s Gray, and Titanium White. Using a smaller filbert brush, gently paint some cloud shapes with this pink mixture. Don’t worry about making them perfect, clouds can be all kinds of random shapes! Once that layer is dry or slightly tacky, add a bit of Titanium White on top to create highlights and define the cloud edges.

Step 3

Next, we’ll add some bushes along the skyline. Mix a dark green using Hooker’s Green, Prussian Blue, and a touch of Lamp Black. Using your filbert brush, press the brush into the paper to create textured dabbing marks that look like foliage. Vary the height and shape of the bushes to make the scene feel more natural and realistic.

Step 4

Let’s add some foliage to the foreground. Use a mix of greens, yellows, and blues, applying the paint with loose, textured brushstrokes.

Don’t worry about being too precise – thicker, splodgy paint can add lots of interest and depth. Be sure to leave a gap in the centre of the page for the sunflower, but don’t worry if it’s not perfect as you can always add more foliage later. Near the bottom of the painting, add some delicate white dots with thin stems that trail off the edge of the paper, giving a sense of soft, wild growth.

Step 5

Now onto the sunflower – the star of the painting!

Begin by painting a simple brown oval in the centre of the page to form the base of the sunflower’s head. Use Van Dyck Brown for the main colour and add a touch of Burnt Sienna on the left side to create a highlight. This shape can be fairly large, as it will set the overall size of your sunflower.

Step 6

Let’s give the sunflower something to grow on by adding the stem and some leaves. Sunflower stems usually grow from the back of the flower head and angle slightly downward. Use a darker green on the left side of the stem to create shadow and add Lemon Yellow along the right side for a highlight.

For the leaves, use a round brush and apply the paint thickly, mixing greens and yellows to create variety in the colour. Don’t worry about making perfect leaf shapes – feel free to splodge on some random green marks for a more relaxed, natural feel.

Step 7

Add some details to the centre of the sunflower – these are called disc florets! Using a small detail brush, mix Cadmium Yellow, Yellow Ochre, and Burnt Sienna. Add small dots in a donut-shaped ring, leaving the very centre of the oval plain. To create depth, place the lighter yellows closer to the centre and use the darker shades around the edges to suggest shadow.

Step 8

And finally, it’s time to add the sunflower petals. Using a round brush and some Cadmium Yellow or Deep Yellow, start at the centre of the flower. Press the brush down to create the wider base of the petal, then gently lift it to a point to form the tip. Repeat this process all the way around the disc floret to complete the full circle of petals. Vary the direction of the petals to make them look more natural, and feel free to add a few stray ones overlapping the centre for a realistic touch.

Next, use Burnt Sienna to add some brushstrokes at the base of the petals and in between them to give the flower more depth and dimension.

To finish your painting, step back and check the composition. Add any extra background foliage if needed to balance and frame the sunflower nicely.

We hope you enjoyed this step-by-step acrylic painting tutorial! We'd love to see your finished pieces, so don't forget to upload your artwork to our Gallery or tag us on Instagram @castleartsofficial and use #CastleArts.