Sugarcreek Sunflower Sunset No. 1 Juried into the OAR Exhibit
The Ohio Arts Council (OAC) selected this print (Sugarcreek Sunflower Sunset No. 1) for the 2023 Ohio Artist Registry Exhibition! The print depicts a Sugarcreek Township (Bellbrook Ohio) Sunflower Field during a colorful sunset. OAC hosts the Ohio Artist Registry exhibition at the Columbus Metropolitan Library starting on 3 February and running to 25 March 2023. Some exhibits are competitive and this exhibit received 419 submissions. With only 35 other art prints selected, this image from the Bellbrook area made the cut.
Healthcare Art Prints
This field of sunflowers has garnered additional accolades as it was selected for display in a local healthcare facility and printed to be eleven feet tall! Our local healthcare facilities are applying lessons about how patients and families feel better when surrounded by scenes of nature. Specifically, when compared to the spartan environment of traditional hospital rooms, patients who recovered in rooms surrounded by nature, experienced lower blood pressure, required less pain medication, and were discharged faster. For business owners with waiting rooms and important spaces, the same effects remain at play. If you are seeking artwork that celebrates the local area while placing your clients at ease, maybe this print works for you.
The Story…
Within Sugarcreek Township resides a local family who graciously opens their five-generation farm every year called the Lucas Brothers Fall Fest. It’s the classic Ohio experience involving fields of pumpkins, hayrides, a corn maze, and this amazing field of sunflowers. In this blue-hour scene, the sunflowers form a complementary color contrast with the blue skies of the oncoming twilight.
More to the Story…
I feel fortunate to have the opportunity to capture this image! First to the Lucas Brothers Family. They graciously open their property every fall so families to enjoy some outdoor time before the chills of winter take over the Miami Valley. The second is photographing sunflower fields can be a challenge. Sunflowers often grow higher than my tripod making it difficult to capture the beauty. The final blessing comes in permissible weather. On this perfect autumn evening, the winds were calm and only a few clouds filled the sky. A dense cloud layer can block the setting sun making for a dull screen. For this sunset, the few remaining clouds refracted the warm colors of the day’s last sunrays, giving the sky extra color!
Sunflower Field Sister Image
Sometimes I’ll dwell on a scene after sunset where the golden hour fades to twilight. This special time is called the blue hour, where the sky remains lit but the warm light takes on blue hues. On this evening, I caught a second image titled Sugarcreek Sunflower Sunset No. 3 during the blue hour. What made this second image work so well lies in the use of a flash which made the sunflowers pop. The bright yellow colors complemented the deepening blue colors. This sister image has accumulated its own accolades. It served as the cover image on the 2022 Bellbrook Sugacreek Park District Calendar where it gained this position by winning the popular vote.
More Artwork
If you’d like to see more pleasing scenes from the local area, check out my website. My artwork also resides in the Sugarcreek Photography Gallery at 15b W. Franklin Street, Bellbrook, Ohio.
