French Sunflowers

"Tournesol"

12" x 9" Torn Magazine on Canvas

After completing my sunflower collage, which is quite large, I decided to do a couple small pieces. I will be participating in Silicon Valley Open Studios (SVOS) in May and would like to show  my watercolors and collages. I am thinking a few smaller pieces might appeal to people who don't have large walls for art. I am in the registration process so you will not yet find me on the SVOS website. Check back after the first of the year.

I chose a French theme for this one, inspired by a page from Wine Spectator magazine. I found that most of the magazine is printed on a natural, not glossy surface. I made a failed attempt to use one of the sheets with a wonderful Eiffel Tower on it. Back to my glossy papers I went. A few of the ads in the same magazine were printed on lovely glossy paper, so I chose one that featured "Cherry Noir." The word "Noir" is mostly under the sunflower petal. I included some French, some of which I wrote onto the black background, and some done on the computer.  I also drew my own Eiffel Tower using Sketchbook. I envision this Sunflower growing in a narrow space next to an old building near the tower.

After a good night's sleep, I decided to vary my edges more and added some papers and text. I added a few random pieces of a women's face under a veil. To the artist, it's a reminder of the hose worn by dancers I once had the pleasure of seeing perform at Moulin Rouge in Paris. To viewers, it's likely decorative.

You can find some fun pieces - sheep in the dark center of the sunflower? colorul graphics of buildings in the stem? the French word for sunflower, "Tournesol"? a cherry topped cocktail? "Paris"? I am now mulling over plans for my final piece of the trilogy (the collages are a three-part novel, not a tryptic painting).