Vodniciar Vladimir Artwork «Sunflowers» — 61x91cm oil on canvas 2014

When I lived in Moldova between 2000-2008, I used to walk through Sunflower fields to capture their beauty, and I would gather bouquets, bring them home, and paint them. This Sunflower Bouquet is a memory of those times, of my closeness to nature, and of the moments when I found inspiration in the simple beauty of the things around me. I have painted several Sunflower Bouquets, but I have noticed that each time, involuntarily, the painting becomes a reflection of what I carry within me at that particular moment, as a spontaneous expression of my inner state. This still life of Sunflowers with a bundle of wheat alludes to an indirect “self-portrait” from 2014 — my face does not appear, but my inner state, my emotion, and the way I perceived that moment in my life are present. The Sunflower, with its natural orientation toward the light, becomes in this work a symbol of energy, joy, and my connection to my native land. Each Sunflower has its own expression and its own movement. I rendered in oil paint a contrast between the intense yellow of the flowers and the cool blue of the background. I painted the petals in different shades of yellow, ranging from intense golden tones to shades approaching orange. The blue-green background creates, through this contrast, a deep and calm atmosphere. Through this contrast, the warm flowers stand out much more strongly against the cool background, while their light seems to emerge from the pictorial space. The bundle of golden wheat stalks that I placed at the base of the painting is an important detail, symbolizing harvest and abundance. It also complements the Sunflowers symbolically, connecting the image to the land, to work, and to the natural cycle of life. In this Still Life, I chose to arrange the flowers in movement, and two of the flowers in the foreground even bow toward the viewer. Through this orientation of the flowers, I wanted to create a more direct relationship between the artwork and the viewer, as if the bouquet were being offered to them. The composition in this vertical format leads the eye from top to bottom: from the flowers at the top, down toward the vase, and then toward the three ears of wheat painted in detail in the foreground. The rich, impasto texture of the oil paint emphasizes the materiality of the petals, leaves, and wheat stalks, transforming this still life into an image about memory, light, and personal emotion. This Artwork is not simply another Sunflower Bouquet that I have painted, but a part of my inner state that I have left in the light in 2014.