Sketching Sunflowers

My husband found several old seed packets in a box when we moved a few years back. He took these seeds and sprinkled them all outside in a small patch of dirt. Among these were sunflower seeds. We started talking about the dreams we had for our garden over breakfast. Afterwards, I went outside, and beautiful flowers had bloomed at the tops of tall stems. I was elated by the bright colors every morning. Inspiration came from these flowers and I decided to take my field sketchbook outside and do some paintings. Here is a sketch from that time in my life and we continue to plant these flowers every year!

I am happy to share these sketches with you on the journey of one of the sunflowers. As it bloomed it started out green and closed in. A peek of yellow petals met me one morning and the next more yellow petals. The green was a very lovely yellow green with a hint of olive. I felt like I was welcoming this flower into the world by drawing, then painting, its progress. I like to use a regular Bic black pen when I do my initial sketching in a book. Other ink pens are darker, and great when in the field, but I do like my everyday Bic pen for doodling. Adding watercolor at the end of a sketch gives the drawing an extra zest of perception to the viewer.

Thoroughly enjoying the experience from the day before, I wanted to go draw in the garden again the next morning. The subject had changed into a fully bloomed yellow sunflower stretching upward to the sky. The center was still green with dew drops from the early morning. The middle of the flower started bleeding out to lighter green, and transitioning to a yellow orange at the end of the inner circle. The petals were a remarkable golden yellow even in the early light.

The sunflower have always greeted me with some new friends. There are usually bees, butterflies, and sometimes a praying mantis! A buzzing black bee said hello as well one day. I chose to paint a series showing these interactions of life in our garden. I hope you enjoy the preliminary sketches as well as what is to come! Let me know what you think about the photographs, sketches, paintings, and this series idea, by sending me an email from the Contact page. Or, leave a comment below! Have a Wonderful Wednesday and thank you for reading!

-Karen Hilliard

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