Sunflowers 1921

Charles E. Burchfield made this painting, Sunflowers, with watercolor and charcoal. I can imagine him really getting into the thick of it, letting the image emerge, bit by bit. The color palette is really interesting, isn't it? It's grounded in earthy browns and oranges, but it's those pale blues that really make it sing! It must have been exciting for him to put these colors together. Look at the way the petals are rendered. Each stroke feels like a little burst of energy, capturing the essence of growth and vitality. You can see him thinking about Van Gogh, but doing it his way, not in the same style, but in the same spirit. It's this back and forth, this conversation between artists across time, that keeps painting alive and surprising. Ultimately, this feels like an invitation to embrace ambiguity, to see the world through a lens of possibility.