SUNFLOWERS II - Enduring Creations

I had written an earlier piece about multiple drawing impressions of just a single sunflower - from tiny bud to dying blossom (https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/one-flower-seeing-drawing-frank-costantino/) - which sequence encompassed mostly permanent line media, and of necessity with those choices, inducing my meditative state for each viewing/drawing; and likewise with some pieces later enhanced in varied colorations.

How this simple flower captured my attention and fascination derived from a relaxed seeing of the flower's form and space in time; in essence it was a mutual engagement. It was a different sense than caring for the flowers as they grew in my garden. With these examples, as seen here, this subsequent series of pieces depicting the magical sunflower, I also anticipated (before actually drawing) the positive/negative spaces that would be created on my sketchbook page - just by close observation and intentional positioning for my view. My first compositions were spare, and seemed supportive to the representative line and color drawing. I explored various compositions, gestures of the blossoms, and decorative patterning, in a process of simple discovery.

But in relating to the nascent Energy in a stationary flower, a more fluid drawing just emerged at times, to capture a visual record of that Energy - both in a drawing with pen & ink, and then just flowing into an abstract patterning and color fields. My imposed constraint was drawing the subject contours in a continuous, uncorrected line; which took a high level of concentration; esp. after setting the gesture of the flower stalk. This study, left, pushed the decorative patterning to a more graphic background effect - a degree that nearly overwhelms the carefully drawn flowers and vase. The decorative patterning, in shadings of color pencil, emerged as a diagonal, spontaneous and active background to the non-colored leaf forms, but intensely color blossoms. The colors were an instinctive and somewhat complimentary choice, with ripples and squiggles to suggest the Energy of flower growth. The minimal complimentary color of yellow/green buds and aqua vase-water seemed to work well with the dynamic background. But this piece was still an exercise in careful drawing.

An intentional approach for a more gestural and vibrant work prompted this unusual composition (of the blossom in a vase on a wood desktop) where space is patterned, depth is muddled, but it conveys the latent Energy of the blossom. The complimentary diagonal angles, an interplay between the stalk & flower with the energy marks of the pattern background, made for a quickly drawn, dynamic sketch. This result then led to another line study (below) with a more deliberate graphic background (a reverent nod to Charles Rennie Mackintosh for the patterning idea) to support a fairly spare, but descriptive, pen drawing. The coloration of the patterns was instinctive. An artist's choice of colors remains a bit of an unsolved mystery (do we really want to know??), though one's choices may derive from numerous works over many years, as well from an intuitive color sense (which fascinated Newton, Goethe, Van Gogh, Steiner, Rothko and so many others). But once the color choices were made, the rest was deciding when & where to stop. This last piece should provide a worthy basis for many derivative pieces.

The few drawings now featured here will prompt my further exploration with other media and at different (larger) scales. And even more discoveries await from sketches, drawings and eventually watercolors of the numerous sunflowers, in various types, blossoms, & sizes, that grace my garden, and sustain my fascination.

Thanks for reading...

copyright F..Costantino 2022