Sunflower Still Life

1. Tell us the inspiration for this piece.

The nostalgia of late summer evenings and the Autumn light.

2. What is your relationship with sunflowers?

When I first met Garden Coco, she was not in her best light. A quarter acre of untended grass, weeds, and mosquitos. Very little other life seemed to be present. Together, we began the slow and steady process of rewinding and restoring the land. The first summer, one native sunflower appeared in the tall grasses, Helianthus annus. 

That is when my relationship with sunflowers began. The next year I began to cultivate an assortment of varieties, chocolate, lemon, and giants. These flowers became symbols of joy in the garden. Over time I began to notice there was also beauty when they began to fade, dry up, and produce hundreds of little seeds for birds, and for future seasons of blooms.

3. Is there a story behind this artwork?

Sunflower Still Life emerged almost fully formed. It was one of those pieces that I had been contemplating for a long time, but my attempts at painting sunflowers had not captured the duality of their nature - joyful life and fading beauty. 

This piece seemed to paint itself one afternoon, from a sunflower memory. I painted it in the Autumn light, and I feel that essence speaks through the piece. They came from a place of timelessness, they could be sunflowers that I planted in my garden, or they could be a vase of your Great Grandmother’s sunflowers. It feels like they are both.

4. What do you hope this piece to brings to a space? 

This piece is reminder to find the beams of light in the corners of our life and to turn towards them. I hope that it brings a moment of pause, a beautiful memory and a glimmer of Autumn light.