Sunflower by Darren Maurer

36" x 36"

I have been working on this piece for awhile. My oldest daughter repainted her bedroom this past summer and used a family of warm yellows for the color. She asked if I could paint a sunflower for her and hang above the head board of the bed? I told her that I would love to paint something for her and began thinking of ideas almost immediately. She has always been fond of sunflowers anyway so this is the perfect subject. A few years back she grew several sunflowers from seeds and ended up naming them all and giving them different personalities . Most of the names were of people we knew which made it even more fun. This will be one of the final touches on the room remodel. My younger daughter has always noticed sunsets. She was pointing out amazing sunsets almost before she could talk. I am going to paint another 36" x 36" sunset painting for her.

The gallery in Milwaukee has asked me to stay and show work full time. The still life show I participated in during July, August, and September was a success and they sold all of the large paintings which is good news for an artist. We have discussed a few ideas for subject matter and I will start painting on those pieces next.