SMILE like a SUNFLOWER

Isn’t the smiling face of a golden yellow sunflower just joyful! Sunflowers should become the flower of choice for all reception areas. As each person walks into the office and is welcomed by a bunch of golden yellow sun shining sunflowers, their face will light up. It could mean that the happiness impressed upon them by the flowers will alter their mood and may make for a much more cheerful interaction with the person they have come to meet. A sunflower is the ultimate face of happiness. A gloomy thought can not cross your mind when you look into the face of a sunflower. I think it also has to do with the sheer size of the flower. I always remember sitting on the train travelling through Czech Republic to a little town called Kutná Hora and seeing the vast fields of sunflowers through the window. It was like their oversized green leaves were waving at me as their long stems swayed in the breeze.
I fully understand the fascination Van Gogh had with sunflowers as he used the colour to guide him through the not so bright times of his mental illness. He saw them as a symbol of happiness as his first sunflower painting was painted primarily to brighten the bedroom of his fellow painter friend Paul Gauguin. It has been said that Van Gogh even ate yellow paint because he thought it would make him happy. I don’t believe this story to be entirely true but he might have had a nibble. Lets face it, if my mental health was suffering and I thought that eating paint could help cure me I would definitely go straight for the tube of cadmium yellow. This paint nibbling did have adverse effects however, because the early oil paints contained lead so the happiness wouldn’t have lasted long when followed by lead poisoning. So as intriguing as this may sound, this must be followed with the proverbial warning…do not try this at home! Van Gogh did choose his place of residence and atelier based on the colour of the building
fascadé. He came to a country town in France called Arles and loved ‘The Yellow
House’ and he had found his home.

My favourite colour has always been yellow. Not just any yellow but golden sunshine canary yellow. I never thought I could wear yellow because I have blonde hair. So I would choose yellow for everything else, handbags, shoes, accessories, home decorating, but wasn’t so comfortable having it near my face. I’ve more recently conquered the fear of looking like a can of Solo soft drink and I have realised that with the right yellow, I too can have the face of a sunflower and make people smile and be joyful when they see me. I’ll try anything to get a grin. SMILE like a SUNFLOWER. Wear yellow today! When did you last wear yellow?