SUNFLOWERS VOL. 1: MAKING OF THE COLLECTION
The “Sunflowers Vol. 1 ” collection will be available in the shop section of the website on
Sunday February 4, 2024
Inspired by the beauty of a sunflower in its wilting stage AND exploring the idea of transitions in seasons and in life.
Sometimes we are in a state of rest and reflection. Flowers don’t grow all year so why should we?
This is the overarching theme behind the art that I create, that not only is it beautiful to look at but that it inspires you to think deeper.
“Sunflowers Vol. 1” is a collection of 3 original mixed media paintings on canvas.
Ranging in size from 16 x 20 in to 30 x 40 in
“Sunflowers Vol. 1 ”
Whitefish, Montana
2024
This collection is a departure from the abstract style of my first two releases and introduces the other style of artwork I create called “semi-realism.” Still using mixed media materials of paper and acrylic paint these sunflowers have a more realistic quality to them. I like the term “semi-realism” because I am not trying to capture exactly what the flower would look like in real life, rather using the composition of the piece to put it through the lens of an artistic concept. This concept is of the flowers on a stark white background, in their beginning stages of wilting and losing petals. Preparing for fall and winter.
Let me take you on a journey of where this concept originated from and why this collection is titled “Sunflowers Vol. 1”
I have always loved sunflowers. So has my family. My nana’s kitchen used to have a little sunflower painted bench by the dining table, with sunflower decor around the house. My mom has massive 8 ft sunflowers growing in the backyard every year. When I was little, they took my cousin and I to a field of black eyed susan flowers and did a photo shoot with us, and then hung the large images on the wall of her entry way. I’ve always loved those pictures. When we were cleaning out my great grandmas house, I found a newspaper clipping hanging in the attic of a sunflower picture she loved and wanted to keep. Sunflower love runs deep on the maternal side of my family.
Me in the flower fields for the photo shoot in the cutest sunflower dress. This was in Iowa in the 90’s, and my Uncle who is a photographer took the photos.
The pictures hanging in my nana’s house of my cousin and I. They are very large, maybe 40 x 60 in.
The first sunflower painting I ever created was actually the first mixed media painting I ever created, which is another reason this subject matter holds a special place within me. In high school AP Art was structured so the beginning part of the year was for assignments to help us explore different styles and concepts. The second part of the year was for building our collections centered around a concept. One of the assignments was to create a mixed media painting. I knew then that this style of painting would become integral to who I was as an artist because I felt lit up by working with the papers and paint and creating textures and layering hidden words and images, where other students felt frustrated and uninspired.
This is the first Mixed Media Collage painting I created, and the first sunflower painting I created. This was in 2009 in Wisconsin.
I remember getting into my car and driving around the farm fields by my house in Wisconsin searching for subject matter for that assignment. On the side of the road by an open field were wild sunflowers growing. Since this was in the fall and during the first month of school, they were wilting already. I decided that was good since I was going to use papers to make the petals and could capture the texture easier than if it was a soft petal in full bloom. The background became an abstract version of what the field and plants around the flower looked like, so that the focus would only be on the sunflower.
The next time I ventured into sunflower territory was junior year of college. Another assignment for my Intermediate Painting Class I was enrolled in to fulfill my studio art minor degree. I can’t remember the details of the assignment, but I do remember that the instructor for this class had one requirement for the semester, we were only to create paintings sized 30 x 40 or larger. He said many people are afraid to paint big and always create small canvas, so this was to push us out of a comfort zone. I’m so glad he did, because I loved it and still credit that class and instructor with my love for that exact size canvas, 30 x 40 in. Similar to the first painting from high school, the flower is in its wilting stage and has an abstract background, but this time with ground and sky.
The second mixed media sunflower painting I created. This was in 2012 in Minneapolis, MN.
After college I began my career in retail working in visual merchandising. I would work dressing mannequins and merchandising floor sets in a department store during the day, and paint on the nights and weekends. I wasn’t working on anything in particular or trying to sell my artwork at that time, rather exploring what my artistic abilities were outside of school and a classroom. This was also when I moved to Montana.
This is where I created a version of the sunflowers you see in this collection, stemmed flowers on a white background. Exploring what it was like to only paint the flower and eliminate the abstract background completely, giving the composition a more contemporary feel.
The third sunflower I created, with a white background and outside of a school assignment. This was in Whitefish, Montana in 2017.
When I began conceptualizing Ashley Ann Art, what it would look like to sell my work and have a website, I decided to create in collections. This is what I did in school, and I liked the idea of exploring one concept at a time on multiple canvas. When creating and working on the first 4 I was to release, I knew one of them had to be sunflowers. To represent both styles of work I create within this mixed media collage painting technique, both abstract and semi-realism.
To explore the idea of the wilted sunflower, and what it represents. The idea that a sunflower outside of its fully bloomed state is still beautiful, it just tells a different story. It represents transition of seasons, from summer into fall. I’ve always loved fall and winter, but more so as I’ve gotten older. It’s a time to slow down and reflect. We don’t often let ourselves do that. But I’ve found that if you can make space to reflect, you might find parts of your life that you need to let wilt, so they can grow something new again in the spring.
Sunflowers Vol. 1 created in 2022 in Whitefish, Montana
In my abstract pieces I will hide a word or phrase and name the paintings after it. For the sunflowers, there are no words or phrases. Only paper and paint. I named each one after a number, and the collection “Volume 1” because you will see a variety of sunflower collections come from me. Since sunflowers are a large part of my history and who I am, there is no doubt they will be a part of my future too.
Thank you for reading all about the “Sunflowers Vol. 1” collection and exploring my creative process.
If you resonate with any of the pieces in the collection they will be available in the shop section of the website on Sunday February 4th 2024
If you have questions about any of the pieces email info@ashleyannart.co