David Walker

The world is full of surprises. Travelling along a country road in Staffordshire, I came across a field full of sunflowers! I do not recall ever seeing such a sight before, so took the time to take some images and then, of course, convert them into PhotoArt. The sunflower is a subject to which many artists have turned their attention, from the famous masters to the amateur artist, many have reveled in its glory! The sunflower is often referred to as a representation of happiness, Van Gogh considered it so, indeed his representation in the National Gallery is a piece of art of which he was especially proud.

Yellow, for Van Gogh, was an emblem of happiness and in the sunflower is considered a symbol of devotion and loyalty. As they age the flowers remind us of the cycle of life and death. The strong primary colour that is the signature of the flower, is also transformed by artists into striking images.

Of my own works, my favorite rendering is “A Host, of Golden Sunflowers” with apologies to both Van Gogh and to William Wordsworth! “Sunflower Parade”, Sunflower Solo” and “Explosion of Sunflowers!” makes up my tetralogy of Sunflower Art.

I also spent some time this month trying to bring a more depth and dimension into PhotoArt portraits. By concentrating on bringing forward the eye nose and lips you can bring forward the face as a whole and add a very interesting perspective to portrait art. A couple of examples are also included in this month’s edition.