由 admin You know, things got a bit much a while back. I was living in the city, proper hustle and bustle, and honestly, I was just feeling drained. Like, completely running on empty. Needed a reset, a proper one, not just a weekend off.
Finding My Focus
I started puttering around, trying to find something to grab onto. Initially, I thought about getting way out of town, you know, go full hermit mode. But that wasn’t really an option. So, I figured, if I can’t escape the city, maybe I can find a different way to see it. That’s when I started noticing things, small things. A weed pushing through concrete, the way the light hit a building. And then, sunflowers. Sounds cheesy, I know, but there was something about them, so bright and defiant in an urban setting.
That’s how the whole “Zen City Sunflower” idea started brewing in my head. It wasn’t about pretty flowers in a perfect garden. It was about that contrast – the grit of the city and the unapologetic beauty of a sunflower. Finding the calm, the ‘zen’, right there in the middle of all the noise.
The Making Of The “Pǔdiǎn”
So, I decided to document it, to create my own little collection, my “Pǔdiǎn” as I started calling it. Here’s how I went about it:
First, I just walked. A lot. For weeks, I’d just wander through different neighborhoods. Not looking for grand vistas, but for those little moments. A single sunflower in a rusty can on a balcony. A small patch bursting with yellow next to a graffiti-covered wall. I took hundreds of photos, not great photos, just records. Made little scribbles in a notebook. Sometimes I’d just sit and watch how the light changed around one particular plant through the day.
Then, figuring out the ‘how’. I didn’t want to just paint pretty pictures. I wanted to capture that feeling, that mix of rough and gentle. I messed around with a few things. Tried some sketches, even thought about sculpture for a hot minute. Eventually, I landed on digital work, but I wanted it to feel textured, almost gritty. Spent an age fiddling with brushes and layers to get something that felt right, not too clean, you know?
Actually doing the work, piece by piece. This wasn’t some grand plan. I started with one image that stuck in my head – a really tall sunflower leaning against a brick wall, catching the last bit of sun. I worked on it, tweaked it, almost deleted it a dozen times. Then I did another. And another. Each one was a bit of a struggle, trying to get that balance of “Zen City” and “Sunflower.” Some days, nothing clicked. I’d just stare at a blank screen or a half-finished mess. Lots of coffee was involved, let me tell you.
- I’d often start by blocking out the city elements, keeping them muted, almost like a backdrop.
- Then, I’d bring in the sunflower, making it the focal point, really trying to get its character.
- The “Zen” part was tricky. It was more about the feeling, the composition, finding that quiet space in the image.
It slowly became a collection. After a few months, I had a folder full of these images. Looking at them together, I realized I’d actually built something. It wasn’t just random pieces anymore; it was a series. It told a story, or at least, my story of finding these little spots of calm. That’s what this “Zen City Sunflower Pǔdiǎn” became for me – a personal record of that journey.
Looking Back At It
The whole process, from feeling lost to creating this collection, it really changed how I see my surroundings. It wasn’t easy, and there were plenty of frustrating moments where I wanted to pack it all in. But pushing through, and finding those little moments of beauty and quiet in the urban sprawl, that was the real payoff. It’s still a work in progress, I guess. I still find new “Zen City Sunflowers” all the time. And it all started because I was just fed up and needed to look at things a different way.