My artistic approach to nature has been centered on the life nestled in my own backyard, under rocks and logs and perched in trees; shared with my children when they were young. I am drawn to animals I can hold in my hand, to see their intricate patterns and symmetry. From common toads and turtles, to cicadas, moths and butterflies, I am in constant awe when observing the smallest details in texture and coloration that encompass my subject.
The beauty in the biodiversity in plant and animal morphology challenges and delights me as an artist, impelling me to illustrate the elegance, symmetry and harmony in the natural world in my personal way. My interests in Art Nouveau, Art Deco, the works of Ernst Haeckel, Charley Harper, Gerald Hodge, Craig Gosling and many others, as well as influences of Victorian decorative and ornamental art, Asian art, Native American weaving, batik, iconography, hot rod flame painting, and tie dye have each shaped my artistic approach.
I embrace and celebrate each of these trends and styles and when painstakingly and lovingly created by my hand and applied: swirling tie-dye becomes the shiny surface of the elytra on a beetle’s back, hot rod flames become the coloration and anatomic features for a fish and its fins, repeating decorative patterns become the feathery coat for an owl, Art Deco designed iron gates become the armor design for a bug, strings of dots and dashes become the petal fabric of lilies and irises, and Native American weaving designs mimic the eyespots on a moth’s wings. I know of no boundary to possibility. Lots of colorful dots, dashes, “swooshes,” combinations of triangles, diamonds and squares, overlapping and intermingling ovals and circles; detail, detail, AND more detail is where I find my joy. Look closely at my animals and plants and you will see beyond what nature intended and hopefully be amazed and amused by a glorious gallery of flora and fauna presented in a magical and mesmerizing way for your enjoyment.
Take an eco-trip through my shop and when you find an image that you like, by hovering over it you can see my intricate detail up close with a green square cursor that appears. All of my mandalas are at a size that makes it possible for them to be printed faithfully as large as 4 x 4 feet.