Sunflowers

Watercolor on Arches cold press paper

15 x 22 1/4 inches

Spanish conquistadors found sunflowers (Helianthus) in North America and took them home. More than a century ago, sunflowers became the rage in Europe as a symbol of the Aesthetic movement—l’art pour l’art (art for art’s sake) taken from 18th century German philosopher Immanuel Kant’s view that art can only be judged by its own criteria and not by anything external to it. I rendered these sun followers with lots of light against a dark background—not likely to occur at the same time—and with fantastic leaves to convey the joy of creation.