Inspirational Journal: Nature Journaling Sunflower Edition

It’s been fun getting out and about this summertime, and what better subject to be inspired and uplifted by than the big, bold and beautiful sunflower. A true sign of summer.

Visiting a local sunflower garden, I couldn’t wait to get in amongst these gloriously bright and big happy flowers to absorb all their colour and form. It’s amazing how tall some of them are!

Mostly we tend to enjoy viewing sunflowers from the front, however, when you view them from their side profile too there is lot’s more to admire. Seeing these giant beautiful flowers en mass are truly visually striking.

On my visit, I was accompanied by some busy bees going about their day. Settled within the dark centre of one of the sunflowers, it made me look closer to notice so many other colours within the mound of seeds. Hints of purple and blue were reflecting in the summer sun. Below is the photo I took, what colours can you see?

Taking my time to observe the sunflowers and feel their silky yellow petals in real life extends my visual awareness of how I can recreate them in loose watercolour. Placing one down on its side onto my paper, enabled me to get up close and paint exactly what I was seeing. My winsor lemon hue would do just the job to capture the yellow vibrancy I was seeing to the petals. My burnt sienna and umber colours would indeed be perfect for the dramatic dark centre I thought.

I took moments to experiment and incorporate the purple hues I was seeing too, as this compliments the yellow petals so perfectly.

So many colours I was seeing all at once– gorgeous!

I painted some quick observations on scrap pieces of paper I had brought with me on the day to truly capture the colours and textures of the real-life sunflowers. It’s a remarkable feeling of being so close to nature with one of life’s spectacular flowers.

(here’s my quick sunflower study observations from the day) What do you think?

 

It’s been an exciting day and so uplifting surrounded by these vibrant yellow flowers, which is a lovely way to make the summer last a little longer.

Being outside and surrounded by these big, beautiful, happy flowers has been good for me and well-being.

Why not try it yourself. Take a look at my fuller guide on how I painted these gorgeous sunflowers from real life.

If you do, I’d love to hear how you get on painting your own sunflowers. You can let me know in the comments below – I love hearing from you.

Love Jennifer Rose xx