I wrote the following artistic reflection to accompany some of my nature-inspired drawings and paintings. Below are several artworks created as a means of celebration and meditation on why I love the natural world as an artist.
Peninsula State Park
Climbing up moss carpeted stone staircases, over and under bent cedar and hemlock straining to catch the sun; I hear the territorial cooing of blue jays and tanagers dancing between aspen branches. On a sunlit morning that paints millions of shades, I freeze like a deer watching. Lichen bubbles and flakes, pops of crimson, magenta, carmine and vermillion flowers hide amongst sap green ferns, and tree bark is an etched minimalist artwork. Columbine hover like lamps, wild peas and grapevines appear woven in mesmerizing detail. I search the ground for rebellious tree roots, and new species of flowers to paint. Brilliant colors of sunrise or sunset pour through open crevices between trees and rock. This densely populated space mutes town sounds, and even other people if you get to know this park's tourist season. No photograph can quite capture the vibrant nuanced colorscapes. Since I was a young girl, I have loved escaping into nature to find the tiny moments, exciting and visceral. Now, after a busy art-teaching season, it is remarkable to escape to places like this to cheer on tiny trail-migrating toads. I find endless possibilities for drawing and painting here.
Every spring and summer, the land explodes visually, overlaying winter's cold palette with a supersaturated display of complimentary colors, velvety textures and diverse plant contours of fascinating life in this ecosystem. If you slow down and enjoy taking time in nature; cranes, porcupine, thumbnail-sized toads and other spectacular wildlife will join you for moments of your hike. Some days I bring my painting case and sketchbook to set up a live session, cataloging all the colors and contours I observe. On other days, I bring my sketches to my art table, creating works like this as explorations of harmony possible in nature. My imagination grows as wild and expansive as this forest from within my tiny apartment box. My yard rivals Versailles as I create works inspired by these parks. I have created this amalgam as an imagined scene to evoke the sense of layered and packed biodiversity in this area; to celebrate the uniquely complex natural worlds which appear here when you are quiet and tread lightly. Every inch of this environment is teeming with species engaged in a beautifully designed symbiosis of life. I feel thrilled to practice being as quiet as possible; finding my next colors to mix and shapes to draw.
Peninsula State Park, June 2025, Mixed media watercolor, gouache and c0lored pencil on paper
Cave Point Park
Cave Point Park, July 2024, watercolor and gouache on paper
An Imagined City, The Nature of Cities, 2024
This painting (An Imagined City, The Nature of Cities), is part of a series I've created inspired by my life in cities, towns, suburbs and rural areas. This piece was created entirely from imagination. I was contemplating how I've witnessed life, art and nature in crowded, creative cities. Dwelling in small apartment complexes; people often express themselves creatively in small spaces. Art, music, nature and life occur in juxtaposed moments in a modern city. Having lived in rural, nature infused small towns, and big urban cities; I am hoping to illuminate how nature is perceived, and how places shape people's connection to creativity and the natural world. Moving away from crowded large cities has me contemplating how wonderful it is to see entire fields of wildflowers, areas of yard that aren't parts of rooftops, and birds that fly free.
At the time I began this drawing, I was visiting family in rural Door County, Wisconsin where I have lived periodically for several years. I was contemplating the often overwhelming feelings I get when I live in crowded cities. When I have had to take jobs in different places; I consider this an adventure and a hopefilled opportunity to see new places and grow as an educator. This drawing is a fictional city drawn entirely from imagination and memory of living in places filled with fun old buildings to draw. There is a unique mix of nature persisting amongst brick, geometric angles and ornately human-made facades. I chose to paint sprawling blossoms and branches, broken up and intersected by the harsh gridded organization of a building’s windows. This is how I feel when I live in cities. Like I am only experiencing flickers and slices of nature, and that I am bombarded with collaged layers of city history and compartmentalized living in small spaces. The juxtaposition created in this artwork is important as an ecosystem in my naturalist works. In the densely packed cityscape; the rock doves are sequestered the same as each apartment dweller. In more recent works, I have had more opportunity to feel the wild openness of parks and untamed natural worlds here.