Ah! Sun-Flower

AH! SUN-FLOWER

Ah Sun-flower! weary of time,
Who countest the steps of the Sun,
Seeking after that sweet golden clime
Where the travellers journey is done

Where the Youth pined away with desire,
And the pale Virgin shrouded in snow:
Arise from their graves, and aspire
Where my Sun-flower wishes to go. - William Blake

This is a picture of a road east off of Post Road in OKC, OK that is covered with sunflowers in the fall. I had been reading Vincent Van Gogh's Volumes of his letters to his brother, Theo, while I was in Newport Beach, CA at a beach house for a week. I was sick when I got there (flu), so I spent a lot of time reading. The room I stayed in when I arrived had pictures of Van Gogh paintings on the wall, which was really cool because I had packed one of Van Gogh's Volumes of his letters. I decided to paint a picture of the road bursting like a riot with sunflowers when I got back to OKC, but it was late August and the flowers were already gone. I took a picture anyway and painted it, thinking I would add the sunflowers later; but I ended up giving the painting away to another painter, who gave me his painting of my favorite Van Gogh portrait in exchange. He (my friend, Chris, who did the painting), died within a year later, and was buried with his paint brushes placed in his hand.

I always felt like the sunflowers were missing from the painting, until I read this poem by William Blake. Then I realized they weren't gone, they just aspired!

(One more interesting observation about the poem that coincided with my trip is that the same week while I was in Newport Beach, there was an eclipse of the moon, which could be seen clearly, which reminded me of the line, "the pale Virgin shrouded in snow" that arose from her grave.)