#2733 "Sunnyside Sunflower Tower"

#2733 "Sunnyside Sunflower Tower"
36x12 inches oils on canvas

This is the partner to #2732 "Towering Singleton Sunflowers" and #2734 "Sunflower Side of Life". As with the partner paintings, these sunflowers are intended to bring some happiness into the world during these challenging times ... but challenges always bring opportunities if we take the time to look. It might take more effort to find the good but once you do, cling to that and let the rest slide by. Surround yourself with nature and that is a good start. Henry David Thoreau was right: "Wildness is the preservation of the World." 

Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) was an American naturalist, philosopher and writer best known for his book "Walden", a reflection upon simple living in natural surroundings. His essay "Civil Disobedience" which was originally published as "Resistance to Civil Government" is an argument for civil disobedience to an unjust state which is equally applicable now as it was in the days of the American Civil War. Thoreau was a transcendentalist as were many members of the Group of Seven believing "society and its institutions—particularly organized religion and political parties—corrupt the purity of the individual. They have faith that people are at their best when truly self-reliant and independent. It is only from such real individuals that true community can form." 

Here are some Thoreau quotes that help to get me through a day:

• This world is but a canvas to our imagination.
• It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see.
• Rather than love, than money, than fame, give me truth.
• If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer.

I prefer to surround myself with nature and science and look up to the well-rooted tower of shining sunflowers that turn towards the sun and spin that solar energy into something green and growing. These are undeniable truths and by respecting those, life must be blessed. 

For this and much more art, click on Pixels.

Warmest regards and keep your paddle in the water,

Phil Chadwick