These 6 sunflower seed paintings, exploring a purple/yellow palette and stripes, have been brought to you by Kamla Hari McGonigal, who donated the funds for the materials for these six paintings. The first four will be going out to Carol Borschneck, Estelle Bungay, Jazmin Tyson and Katia Goussous (in that order) later this week. Sunflower Seed Paintings #17 & #18 are still looking for a home. Go here to learn about the project and sign up to receive one free, or donate to ensure we keep this project going!

It seems as though I am always waiting for things to come to fruition. To hear back from that application, or for that idea to catch on.

Right now I am working on an addition to my sunflower project that has to do with patience and time. A week ago I planted a Sunflower Seed. I decided to document the growth of this seed through its lifespan. I am interested in what happens to the Sunflower Project during the course of the life of a single planted seed.

Right now, I am waiting to see a sign that the seed is even viable. Each of the daily photos has been just black soil. I have no idea if my effort is futile. I must be patient, and wait the requisite time before attempting to plant another seed.

Here I have a little advantage, as the seed packet has guidelines for germination. The benefit of learning from the experience of others.

However, when it comes to creative projects and the entrepreneurial spirit I have found that, quite often, while patience is advised, the advisors are silent on how long one is to be patient, and when having patience has crossed over into flogging a lost cause.

Fortunately, The Sunflower Project showed it’s viability early on, with the first request for a painting coming less than a week after I announced it on social media. The first donation to support the project came in about a month after the project was initiated. Whether the project can become self-supporting remains to be seen.

Like any good gardener, I must continue to nurture it and have patience.

 

“Hey, what about adding paintings of sunflowers to your paintings of sunflower seeds? the sunflower is such a happy looking plant.”

This question arrived at my inbox last weekend. It is a very good question, so I thought I would address it here.

The sunflower IS a happy looking plant!

Metaphorically speaking, we all want more sunflowers in our lives. The sunflower seed is a reminder that we can’t have the flower without taking the time and the risk to nurture the seed into a flower.

When we do that, the flower, which only has one season to brighten our lives, will return to us a thousand more seeds, which if nourished will bring us a thousand more flowers, and so on and so on.

Perhaps I personally cannot nurture all those thousand seeds into flowers, and on and on, but if I give you a seed, then we can share that responsibility. Together we can grow a network of people who are bringing more sunflowers into the world, and together we can all benefit from those flowers.

The seed is the potential for future happiness. While the flower may last only one season, the seed will last years through adverse conditions until someone has the ability to nurture it into life. It is hope for the future, and it is the ability to hang in there today.

So the answer to why The Sunflower Project gifts paintings of Sunflower Seeds, rather than paintings of Sunflowers:

Because the seed is an enduring symbol for what I am seeking to accomplish with the project. It is not simply about giving away paintings for free, nor the pleasure of receiving a gift. It is about sharing a responsibility. By receiving the painting, you in some sense take on a responsibility to protect and nurture that future flower; to assist in making the future a bright and beautiful place for all of us with your own thousand gifts to give the world.

The third set of Sunflower Seed paintings have been finished, and nearly all claimed. They are being sent out to June Hills, Sheryl Penner, Kamla McGonigal, Carmen Bellingham and Koren Scott. There is one left (#12) in this batch. You can learn more about the project and sign up to get on the waiting list for the next batch of Sunflower Seed paintings here.

***Update: #12 is now going out to Tracy Burton***

The second set of Sunflower Seed paintings have been finished and claimed. They are being sent out to Aleksandra Danicic, Kelly Small and Andrea vanV. You can learn more about the project and sign up to get on the waiting list for the next batch of Sunflower Seed paintings here.

The Sunflower Project is going well, read more about it my previous post here:

The first three paintings all have new homes waiting for them thanks to Ronald Van Vugt, Melanie Figueroa and Kathy Blackmore. I now have a waiting list for the next batch of paintings.

Want one? Click here to sign up!

I Have A Gift For You: Do you love art?  Do you believe that each of us has not one, but a thousand gifts to give the world?  Do you love art and believe that art is one of those gifts?  Then I have a gift for you. I want to give you a painting. I want to give you a painting of a sunflower seed. The sunflower is a dramatic plant: Tall, strong, visually striking, it is a wonder of life to behold as it grows and tracks the sun through the season. I recall my sadness, the first time growing them, at the first frost. I wished I could turn the clock back by one day, for the day before they were in their prime, and the next morning their heads were blackened and drooping, never to look up at the sun again. Life can change just like that. We seem to be in a time now where we wish we could turn back the clock by one day. But there is a saving grace: The sunflower may have only one life for itself, but it carries a thousand seeds, a thousand gifts of itself. Seeds sent out into the world, planted far and wide in supportive soil will grow into new flowers. Seeds hoarded can do no good. I see so many actions by individuals, giving gifts of themselves to make the world better, whether it be signing a petition, writing a letter, joining a march, making soups for housebound seniors or dolls for hospitalized children. I want to encourage us all to focus on the gifts we have to give, the positive actions we can make, rather than on putting up walls and hoarding what we think we have against those we think are out to take it from us. So, If you love art, if you believe that we all have a thousand gifts we can give the world, and that we can affirm our lives through giving those gifts, then I have a gift for you: Visit The Sunflower Project page on my website to find out how you can receive your gift of a sunflower seed painting! May it remind you that you too have a thousand gifts to give the world. May you give them, and may your life grow a thousand fold.