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The first Art in April Festival was held in St. Bernard in 1996. It celebrates the culture of St. Bernard Parish in Louisiana. The area flooded during Hurricane Katrina. In the spring of 2007, I decided to visit the festival and take some photos. The festival uses a sunflower as a symbol.




acrylic on canvas, 5" x 5

So that is where my process began. Although the sunflower was a motif for the festival, I had no photos of real sunflowers. So, I searched sunflower photos online. After scrutinizing the images of real sunflowers, I rendered the painting below. Above it is a photo from Art in April Festival.