{"id":8707,"date":"2026-06-30T10:48:44","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T08:48:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jeroenstok.com\/?post_type=product&p=8707"},"modified":"2026-07-03T10:25:48","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T08:25:48","slug":"stainless-steel-wall-sculpture-sunflowers","status":"publish","type":"product","link":"https:\/\/www.jeroenstok.com\/en\/all-stainless-steel-sculptures\/art-type\/art-commissions\/stainless-steel-wall-sculpture-sunflowers\/","title":{"rendered":"Monumental Stainless Steel Wall Sculpture with Sunflowers"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"detail
Detail of the commissioned sunflower wall sculpture<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

From a plain facade to a sculpture full of life<\/h2>\n

Ria felt that the facade of her house looked a little ordinary. She wanted to enrich it with a special artwork that would give her home more character and warmth. After seeing an earlier sunflower sculpture I had made, she asked me for a new commissioned artwork: a design made especially for her facade. Together we developed this monumental stainless steel wall sculpture with stylised sunflowers.<\/p>\n

The sculpture consists of nine flowers in different stages of growth. Some stand upright in full bloom, while others bend down gently or are already past their peak. The flowers, leaves and stems are not mounted flat against the wall. In several places they come slightly away from the facade, creating a playful effect of light, shadow and depth. From every angle, the sculpture looks a little different.<\/p>\n

Design process<\/h3>\n

\u2713 First meeting
\n\u2713 Sketch designs
\n\u2713 Full-size prototype
\n\u2713 Stainless steel production
\n\u2713 Colour finish
\n\u2713 Installation on location<\/p>\n

From first sketch to full-size model<\/h2>\n

As with every commissioned artwork<\/strong><\/a>, this project started with many sketches, which I made with great pleasure. I often find this one of the most enjoyable stages of the design process. On paper, you can freely explore shapes, lines and compositions. At this stage, you are not yet limited by the technical and material constraints that will come later. Each sketch has its own character.<\/p>\n

\"sketches
Four different sketch designs<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

From dozens of sketches, Ria selected four designs that appealed to her most. I developed these further until one design remained: the one that felt right and brought everything together.<\/p>\n

To judge the proportions properly, I then made the complete sculpture at full size in my studio. On the large barn doors, I placed all the flowers, leaves and stems in paper, exactly as in the chosen design. This allowed us to see, before production started, how the sculpture would look and where small adjustments might still be needed.<\/p>\n

\"full-size
Full-size prototype of the monumental wall sculpture on my studio door<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I often make this kind of full-size prototype for larger and smaller pieces of bespoke sculpture. It gives both me and the client a clear idea of what the final artwork will look like. It also makes it easy to make improvements at this stage. In this design, for example, some of the leaves turned out to be too large. By reducing them and even removing a few, the sunflowers became much more prominent.<\/p>\n

In the workshop<\/h2>\n

After technical drawings had been made for all the parts \u2014 petals, stems and leaves \u2014 the different elements were cut from stainless steel. From the beginning, we took into account that the various parts would be sprayed in colour separately. For that reason, we made the entire sculpture demountable. After the spraying process, the parts could be attached invisibly with screws.<\/p>\n

If the whole sculpture had already been assembled, there would have been several places that the spray painter could not have reached properly.<\/p>\n

Once the parts arrived, they still had to be shaped. In other words, they had to be made more three-dimensional.<\/p>\n

\"cut
The cut stainless steel parts are still completely flat. Only after shaping and assembling do the flowers gain their three-dimensional character.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"two
The first two sunflowers have been assembled. The curved petals create extra depth and a lively appearance.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It is always special to see how a pile of flat stainless steel parts slowly turns into a monumental sculpture<\/a> . Step by step, each flower gains its own shape and character.<\/p>\n

We then brought all the parts together. We drew the design on the workshop floor with chalk and placed the elements in the correct positions. After that, we could start making the connections that would hold everything in place.<\/p>\n

\"overview
The full-size design laid out on the workshop floor. The chalk lines show the final positions of the flowers and stems.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Outdoor stainless steel wall art with depth and colour<\/h2>\n

The final wallsculpture was made entirely from stainless steel 316, a material very suitable for long-term outdoor use. After sandblasting, the stainless steel was carefully finished with several layers of paint. The colours were deliberately not powder coated, but built up with carefully sprayed layers. By spraying different colours over and through each other, sometimes wet-on-wet, subtle colour gradients were created. These give the flowers more depth and a more natural appearance. The result is playful, lively and cheerful.<\/p>\n

\"spray
Leaves and stems at the spray workshop<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"spray
Stainless steel sunflowers just after being sprayed in colour<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the video below, you can see how one of the sunflowers receives its colours in the spray booth.<\/p>\n