The sunflower is one of the most recognizable sunflowers because its bright yellow shape is often depicted in children’s books and illustrations. This large, bright flower is a favorite decoration for household items because of its cheerful nature, and the same symbolism that makes it popular in the home is making it popular as a tattoo design.

Even though the colors in this sunflower tattoo aren’t that bright, the friendly nature of the flowers is apparent. Using color on a mostly monotone background adds to the stylish feel of this sunflower tattoo design. [source]

The Meaning of Sunflower Tattoos

Sunflowers have been used in art for centuries as a symbol of happiness, summer time and friendship. As an art symbol a sunflower confirms that something in the scene is good and wholesome, full of life and joy. This symbolism came about not only because the sunflower is a joy to look at, but because the flower itself has proved very useful to mankind.

The bold outlines and bright colors of this sunflower tattoo add to the friendly, cheerful symbolism of this flower. Both the flower and ladybugs are symbols of luck, and the ladybug is a symbol of love. [source]

Three sunflowers and thistles make up this bright and colorful tattoo design. Each flower could represent something; people, stages of life or things that bring joy in life. [source]

Sunflowers are full of life. At the heart of the large flowers are hundreds of sunflower seeds. These are very good for you and can be eaten raw or cooked or they can be crushed to release sunflower oil. Sunflowers have proven invaluable to mankind. The leaves of the sunflower can be used to feed cattle and the stem can be pulped to make paper. The sunflower is celebrated as a symbol of plenty because in summer when the flowers bloom, they provide people with food and materials.

This sunflower is accompanied by woven stems and a honey bee. Both the bee and the sunflower are tattoo symbols of fertility and life. Woven shapes like the twisted stems are symbols of creativity and human ingenuity. [source]

In Chinese culture, the yellow sunflower is a symbol of happiness, vitality and intelligence. The sunflower is used in Chinese art as a symbol of good luck and a long life. Around the world sunflowers are generally given as a gift for happy occasions such as birthdays, weddings and family events to bring joy to the receiver. Because sunflower plants are born anew each year, sunflowers can symbolize the birth of happiness and the creation of new joy.

In this tattoo the sunflower petals unwrap themselves, lifting up from the heart of the flower. This act of blooming is a symbol of new joy and emerging happiness. A tattoo of a blossoming sunflower symbolizes the hope that the person will continuously find new joys in life. [source]

Sunflower Tattoos that Shine like the Sun

It’s difficult for human beings to look directly at the sun and so a friendlier version is sometimes used in illustrations and paintings in the shape of a sunflower. The sunflower is sometimes used out of context (without a surrounding illustration of land and sky) as a logo or symbol. The Spiritualist church uses the sunflower as their emblem, claiming that the movement of a sunflower turning its face towards the sun is an excellent representation of faith. Many health food companies choose the sunflower as their logo because of the link between sunflowers and the sun and the vitality of these flowers.

This tattoo design uses a bright yellow sunflower as the sea turtle’s shell. The contrast between the black tribal designs of the sea turtle and the yellow tattoo inks of the sunflower make this an eye-catching tattoo design. [source]

Sunflowers are summer annuals, which means that the plant dies in autumn, dropping seeds to the ground that stay dormant throughout winter. In spring the seeds sprout and by early summer the sunflower shoots up to stand up to two metres tall, with flowers that can be as big as a dinner plate or larger. Because of its flowering season, the sunflower is associated with summer, warmth and fertility.

A summery sunflower tattoo on sun kissed skin is an excellent symbol of sunshine, summer days and warmth. [source]

Sunflower tattoos can be placed anywhere on the body, but a flower this fun and friendly can be placed somewhere visible such as the ankle, arm or shoulder. With a clear silhouette and dark center, a sunflower tattoo can be recognizable from a distance, bringing cheer to all who see it.

The dark center, bold outlines and bright colors of this sunflower tattoo all help to make it recognizable from a distance. [source]

The heart of this sunflower tattoo sits on the round bone of the shoulder, drawing attention to that area of the body by accentuating it. Sunflower tattoos are friendly enough that they can be worn on visible areas like the shoulders. [source]