Painted Sunflower, Orange Delight

Painted sunflower, orange delight.
(Click picture for larger view)

"Nature seems to have poured forth her riches so without calculation, merely to mark the fullness of her joy."
~ Margaret Fuller

Who knew there were so many varieties of sunflower? Big beautiful flowers whose heads follow the sun as it wings its way across the sky. We saw millions of these in Italy; miles and miles of bright color in waves, punctuated by the occasional stone shed or dirt road. This happy flower a golden yellow, stroked with bright orange; the petals look as if they have been painted, gently stroked with color. Cheerful, optimistic, sassy and joyful; I feel all of these things in this picture. How do sunflowers the color of fire make you feel?

Submission for Thursday Challenge topic "orange". (end of post)