As a passionate observer, my earliest experiments with watercolor painting began by collecting real botanical specimens from my immediate surroundings and committing those images to paper.  I was and remain fascinated by the beauty of all things in nature. As my early interest grew, I invested extensive time in the classroom with my mentor Katie Lee who is a renowned botanical and wildlife painter often contracted by professional explorers to document their findings. I prefer to paint from real subjects and personal observations rather than photographs. Many of my works depict specimens selected from my own garden or plucked along the routes I walk with my dogs.