The Blog

In ALL POSTS, ART, WORDS On
October 18, 2018

Spellbinding Blooms

delphinium botanical illustration

Delphinium/Larkspur are everything magic. They belong in fairytales where they grow outside cottages filled with spells and charms and cookies that give you sweet dreams.

Or maybe in fields where love at first sight is inevitable.

Or alongside a brook that sings songs in time with the birds.

Don’t you think?

In ALL POSTS, ART On
October 15, 2018

Suspended Petals

hellebore botanical illustration

I’ve noticed lately that I draw flowers like they’re in outer space, no gravity, no vases, just suspended in air.

Or maybe they’re dancers mid-leap?

Or maybe floating lazily on a quiet river?

Or are they stems and blooms tossed up into a warm spring breeze?

What do you think?

In ALL POSTS, ART, SHE LOVED, WORDS On
October 8, 2018

Zadie’s Zinnias

zinnia botanical illustration

Zinnias just make me happy!

Maybe because they remind me of my grandma Zadie’s name. Or maybe because they remind me of my mom’s summer flower beds along the sidewalk.

I think it’s because to me, they are family and at the same time, they’re those magic summer afternoons when you can taste the sun as it rides the wind.

Is there a flower that just makes you happy?

In ALL POSTS, ART On
September 24, 2018

Paralyzed

peony botanical illustration

I was thinking this morning about all the things I want to do this year. And then I just stared at the wall for about ten minutes, paralyzed by the overwhelm.

Is anyone else so ambitious, maybe overly so, that they just end up staring at walls sometimes? Or is it just me?

In ALL POSTS, ART On
September 20, 2018

Gene Autry Was Wrong

jimson weed botanical illustration

My dad (a professional cowboy) used to laugh at that Gene Autry song that says, “Where the longhorn cattle feed on the lowly jimson weed.”

Dude, just no. Not likely. Jimson weed is toxic to large animals and they usually have the sense not to eat it! But hey, it rhymes, right?

Dang though, it’s a pretty little plant!

In ALL POSTS, ART On
September 17, 2018

Floral Personality

cafe au lait dahlia botanical illustration

Flowers and plants always seem to have distinct personalities to me. Do they you? Dahlias like these are daydreamers looking past the horizon, curly little petals lifted by the wind as the blooms ponder their future. Am I just crazy or can you see it, too?

This is my latest tattoo commission, a cafe au lait dahlia, one of my favorite dahlias.

In ALL POSTS, ART, WORDS On
September 10, 2018

Some Part Remains

wild rose botanical illustration

I remember finding rose bushes, peonies, iris, and tiger lilies in neat rows in the pastures I explored as a child. They outlined where houses used to be. Sometimes, I would find the remnants of a foundation, three short rows of earth colored bricks or stone, crumbling at the edges and worn by the rain.

Isn’t it lovely to think of the hands that planted these flowers, the lovers that left hearts in the trees, and the fingers that plucked blackberries from the very same brambles in front of us?

We’re only here for a little while, but some part of us remains forever. I hope what I leave behind is something beautiful.

In ALL POSTS, MUSIC, SHE LOVED On
September 8, 2018

For Mom

This is one of your favorite songs. The lyrics are so beautiful. 

I miss you. <3

Looking For Space
by John Denver

On the road of experience, I’m trying to find my own way.
Sometimes I wish that I could fly away
When I think that I’m moving, suddenly things stand still
I’m afraid ’cause I think they always will

And I’m looking for space
And to find out who I am
And I’m looking to know and understand

It’s a sweet, sweet dream
Sometimes I’m almost there
Sometimes I fly like an eagle
And sometimes I’m deep in despair

All alone in the universe, sometimes that’s how it seems
I get lost in the sadness and the screams
Then I look in the center, suddenly everything’s clear
I find myself in the sunshine and my dreams

And I’m looking for space
And to find out who I am
And I’m looking to know and understand

It’s a sweet, sweet dream
Sometimes I’m almost there
Sometimes I fly like an eagle
And sometimes I’m deep in despair

On the road of experience, join in the living day
If there’s an answer, it’s just that it’s just that way

When you’re looking for space
And to find out who you are
When you’re looking to try and reach the stars

It’s a sweet, sweet, sweet dream
Sometimes I’m almost there
Sometimes I fly like an eagle
But sometimes I’m deep in despair
Sometimes I fly like an eagle,
Like an eagle
I go flying flying