From Seed to Sunburst: My Journey with Sunflowers and Art
Blazing Sun Sunflower Art Collection
If you are reading this blog, we most likely share an affinity for sunflowers and colour.
My current sunflower obsession all started when I was a child. I was in year 5 when my teacher sent me home with a single sunflower seed.
I took this home and planted it in some fresh soil. I nurtured this seedling for months.
When the flower finally opened I was in awe of the burst of colour that came from a tiny brown seed.
Enthused by this excitement, this became a yearly tradition.
My sister and I always competed for the tallest sunflower, I guess I was the oldest, so I always won.
I have always drawn and painted, but I never thought to paint the sunflowers that I grew in my garden each year.
That was until my young son, took up the family tradition. Look at my garden this year, it brings me smiles, every day.
In 2019, my view on art changed when I visited the Vincent Van Gogh Exhibition in London. I watched the crowds of visitors study each painting. What did they see in his work?
I began to notice the energetic brushwork and vivid colours, but I also felt energised and uplifted in front of them.
I wanted more.
In the final room of the exhibition, I came face to face with the famous painting of the vase of sunflowers on a yellow background.
I thought to myself, “you can’t paint yellow sunflowers on a yellow background, who does that? Surely that’s breaking the rules?” This left me questioning what I knew about colour theory.
That was the seed that has changed my career.
On leaving the exhibition I purchased a set of oil paints, and the next day I nurtured my first sunflower oil painting into existence.
In that one weekend, as I put the puzzle pieces together I had finally created harmony, between my art and nature.
I realised I am a painter of sunflowers!
I have since found freedom in breaking the rules of colour theory by clashing vivid spray paint with traditional oil paint.
Having waited patiently for years, it is now time to send my sun-kissed sunflowers into the world.
My “Blazing Sun” collection explores the colour of light, from dawn to dusk.
Which colour sings loudest for you?