Sunflower by William Gillies (1898-1973) is a still life oil painting that captures groups of abstract flowers in three vases and an indistinguishable group of flowers in a pot behind these, all on a table against a black and pink background. Possibly a half eaten apple or a red and white ball is on the table to the right of the two vases on the platter. Gillies uses a technique of oil painting where thin layers of paint are used, showing the texture of the canvas through them. The curving strokes of paint around the vases and flowers also suggest he painted the subject of the piece first and then went back and painted the background. The flowers are captured in abstracted detail, with a focus on their dominant colours and thicker lines to show their shape. The sunflowers are partly dead, with white, boney stems and some of the bulbs lacking petals and drooping. The cornflowers in the red vase are livelier, with brighter green colour and the purple flowers pointed straight up. The vases themselves are captured in rich, bright pops of colour and limited strokes of highlights to give them an illusion of shape. 

This still life contrasts somewhat with Gillies's other works, which are often landscapes that softly capture their subject, although Gillies has painted other still lifes as well. Here, Gillies colourist influence is present with the bright, richness of the colour palette and the way the vases and sunflower stems stand out amongst the other parts of the piece. Setting these bright reds, whites, and greens against the black background elevate that colourist influence. 

Sir William George Gillies RA RSA PRSW, 1898-1973

Gillies was born in Haddington, East Lothian. His training at Edinburgh College of Art between 1916 and 1922 was interrupted by two years' war service in France. He and William MacTaggart were among the artists who formed the '22 Group, exhibiting at Edinburgh's New Gallery between 1923 and 1928. Awarded a travelling scholarship, Gillies studied in Paris with André Lhote in 1923-24 before visiting Italy. In 1926 he took up a part-time position under David Alison at Edinburgh College of Art, where he became Head of Drawing and Painting in 1946. He was principal from 1960 to 1966, exerting a powerful influence on the younger generation on painters. Gillies worked in oil and watercolour, but it is as a watercolour painter of Scotland's landscape - particularly Lothian and the Borders - that he is best remembered.