#2787 "Sunflowers Still Shining"

#2787 "Sunflowers Still Shining"
20x16 inches oils on canvas

Paintings of a particular subject need to come in threes. This is the third in the series of sunflower paintings. It was almost a week probably after the florist harvested these sunflowers and they were starting to show their age. The blooms were getting too heavy for their weakened stems to support. It happens to us all. 

The cut sunflowers could no longer turn their blooms toward the sun. The water alone was not enough to keep them alive but even as they started to wilt into the next life, the blooms still shone in the oils. 

The colour choice was to link this painting with its partners in this endeavour. Linda said I must be going through a blue phase... it didn't matter to me. I was having fun and using lots of paint. The brushwork was fast and loose and I was listening to tunes in the Studio. 

             A trilogy of sunflowers from COVID 2021                             

These sunflowers came from a florist in celebration of birthdays and a party held within the Singleton Sanctuary. I thought that the flowers were so beautiful after the festivities that they needed to be recorded for posterity in oils. A similar story happened in 2021 when I painted #2565 "Past Prime Sunflower Bouquet", #2566 "Sunflower Bouquet Last Daze" and #2567 "Wilted Sunflowers". 

I painted four works based on this particular 2023 group of sunflowers: 

#2785 "June Sunflowers"; 
#2786 "Wilted Sunflower"; 
#2787 "Sunflowers Still Shining" and 
#2788 "Sunflowers Last Day". 

A Quartet of Sunflowers from June 2023
The planned Trilogy became a Quartet

There are many more sunflowers painted but these were completed in a series of particular blooms with a story behind them as they dried out to become compost to nourish more flowers in the future. I have had a lifetime affection for sunflowers. Like daisies, I look forward to painting them every year. 

For this and much more art, click on Pixels or go right to the Flowers Collection..

Warmest regards and keep your paddle in the water,

Phil Chadwick