Be's Designs: Sunflower Dancer

Disclosure: My Be’s Designs posts are meant as a behind-the-scenes look into what I do to go from inspiration to a finished painting. I like to go step-by-step with everything I do and focus on what went well, what didn’t and tips and tricks I learned along the way.

Those of you who know me the best know that before I was a full-time artist I was a Costume Designer.
As a designer, ballet costumes were always some of my favorites. This was where my imagination really got to come out and play. There is a type of fantasy world that always comes into play that you can’t get with any other type of theater.

As an artist I wanted to revisit the land of tutus without drowning in tulle. Back then my favorite part of being a designer, the part that involved paint and canvas, took up very little time. The vast majority of my time was eaten up by building the costumes that I designed on paper. Now, as an artist, I can spend all the time that I want relishing my favorite part, and never having to touch another piece of tulle again. And that’s what I’ve done here.

All reference photos were downloaded from Pexels.com

Acrylic paint on a 12″ x 12″ (30.48 cm x 30.48 cm).
Framed in 1.75″ wide black/brown solid wood frame.
Finished size: 15.5″ x 15.5 ” (39.37 cm x 39.37 cm)

Americana and Anitas’ Acrylic paint.

I had a great time painting this piece because it brought me back to my costume roots. As a costume designer, my job was to create a design on a 2-dimensional surface, like paper or canvas, and turn that into a 3-dimensional costume. The costume designer doesn’t just make sure that each actor has clothing on their backs, it’s also to create a visual definition, for the audience, of who a character was before he/she ever opened their mouth. Many times costumes can become iconic, like Indiana Jones’ fedora or Dorothy’s ruby slippers. Each is easily recognisable and iconic to a specific character.

Because this is a painting of a ballet dancer there is no chance for the character to reveal itself through the dialogue of a play. They reveal themselves through their costumes and their dance. This painting isn’t of a particular ballet, but as an artist, I wanted to reveal a little about myself to my audience by combining two of my loves in a single piece: costume design and painting sunflowers.

The dancer wears a classical tutu, made of layers of fabric that resemble flower petals. The bodice of the tutu is a black satin with white scalloped trimming to resemble the center of the sunflower.

The background is painted in three different blues: Mountain Blue, Nautical Blue and Stormy Blue. I wanted to creating a feeling of a sunflower standing tall under a bright blue sky. The combinations of the blue background and the oranges and yellows of the costume create a beautiful contrast and a stunning effect.

Step 1: Background

Create background using Black, Mountain Blue, Stormy Blue and Nautical Blue.

Step 2: Transfer

Transfer cartoon onto tile using tracing paper and white graphite paper.

Click on post below to find out more about how I do this step.

Step 3: Fleshtones

I started painting the dancer’s back, arms and legs, using Fleshtone, Traditional Burnt Umber, Fawn, Antique Gold and White.

Step 4: Tutu and Hair Piece

Each of the petals are painted in a combination of Antique Gold, Burnt Sienna, Burnt Orange, Golden Straw, Espresso Bean, and Black. I used the same colors in the hair piece and added white on the tips for a little sparkle.

Step 5: Bodice and Hair

The bodice is meant to symbolize the center of the sunflower in satin fabric. It’s painted using Black, Espresso Bean, Traditional Burnt Umber, Fawn and Antique White. Her hair is painted using Espresso Bean, Traditional Burnt Umber, and Fawn.

Step 6: Ballet Shoes

Her point shoes are painted in Fleshtone, Zinc, Traditional Burnt Umber, and Antique White.

Step 7: Finishing

The whole piece is sealed with epoxy resin, which creates a mirror-like finish. (The pictures were taken before the tile was sealed, mainly because of the seal creates a glare from the lighting and a reflection that is very noticable when photographed).

Step 8: Frame

This painting is placed in a 1.75″ wide (3.81 cm) solid wood, dark brown/black frame. The finished size is 15.5″ x 15.5″ (39.37 cm x 39.37 cm).

Want to learn more about this painting and other similar pieces in my studio, then just click Sunflower Dancer to find out more about it and other pieces in my portfolio.

Thanks for visiting!

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