When
we think of plants we think only of the fragility of them. Their
beauty. We don't consider the fact that if left to their own devices
they will break through concrete to get to sunlight. Becoming completely intrigued by this, I began looking more closely at botanical drawings. The
intensive detail. The amount of labor it must have taken to translate
nature onto paper. I wanted to make my own interpretation using color, line and shape. My process involves doing an extensive amount of research on my subject. It involves looking and sketching and experimenting with color. I started each piece with a graphite drawing, then applied marker, pastel or water color. I wanted to give the viewer a feeling of preservation and strength. I did this by covering the finished work with a thick layer of encaustic.