Sunflowers for Ukraine.
(Copyright. Celia Turner) I painted these sunflowers a few years ago onto a special edition of The Times. The painting seems horribly poignant now. The sunflower is the national flower of Ukraine. The beautiful sunflower takes her name from Clytie, a water nymph who turns into a sunflower after grieving the loss of her beloved Apollo. The mythological symbolism is that Clytie (in her form as a sunflower) is always facing the sun looking for Apollo's chariot to return that they might rekindle their love. The sunflower grows tall and moves to face the life -giving rays of the sun and is often used as the symbol of spiritual faith and worship.