As a young girl, one of my favorite books was “The Secret Garden”, by Frances Hodgson Burnett.  I loved the idea of a safe, private place I could go to get away from the world and contemplate the wonders of nature and life.  Fortunately for me, I lived just steps away from the Whitemud river valley in Edmonton, Alberta.  I spent many hours walking in the ravine, seeking out mysterious little nooks and hollows, and learning about the wild things that lived there.

My plant life paintings are study of these microcosms.  What at first glance appears wild and unstructured slowly reveals an underlying matrix of repeating forms, patterns, textures, and relationships.  Many of these same patterns repeat themselves on a larger scale in the forest, on the planet, and in the universe.  With each brush stroke I feel as if I unravel a little more of nature’s fantastic tapestry.  I hope that the viewer will take time to go beyond the seemingly chaotic surface of this work, and go exploring with me.