Sunflowers are the happiest of flowers and in this piece I wanted their vibrance and movement to be the centre of the painting rather than a completely realistic painting of a sunflower. All the use of primary colours, brush strokes, and palette knife markings have been applied to symbolise a dancing sunflower with its head bobbing in a summer breeze.

There are many variations on the Greek Myth concerning the origins of the sunflower. The legend of Clytie tells how the sunflower came into existence. Clytie, the water nymph, was in love with Apollo, the Sun God. She would stare up at Apollo, hoping he would glance her way. But Apollo was in love with someone else and never did favour her with his gaze. When Clytie realised that Apollo was never going to return her love, she sank into a depression and would not eat or drink for nine days, but just stare with sorrow at her unrequited love. The other Gods felt sorry for Clytie, and they transformed her into a beautiful sunflower which always followed the path of the sun.