Artwork copyright Nancy Halbrooks. Photo courtesy of the artist.

Sunflowers, 1995

Nancy Halbrooks
(American, born 1953)

Location: Lincoln Elementary, Vancouver

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

Sunflowers is a large and vibrantly colored pastel drawing by artist Nancy Halbrooks. Inspired by her experiences gardening, she created this artwork in the summer of 1995. She notes, “My own garden is a rich tapestry of birds, insects, flowers and plants and often overgrown, overrun with weeds and rarely tidy… These sunflowers became personages in the garden, individual and full of personality, turning to the light and bending over at times with great weight. The garden became a metaphor for the creative process for me, the garden of one’s self and mind, rich with possibilities and potential.”

This artwork was acquired for the State Art Collection in partnership with Vancouver School District.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Ohio-based artist Nancy Halbrooks creates figurative and abstract oil paintings, drawings, and prints. Many of her artworks feature imagery of birds and explore themes of endurance, adaptation, and community. She received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Indiana University and a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Washington in Seattle in 1977. She lived in Seattle for 22 years during the 1980s and 90s.