Welcome!

Like many other artists, I love to paint orchids from life. They are so enthralling.... and not just because orchids are so beautiful and bizarre – they are also the most evolved plant family on the planet! Perhaps our fascination with orchids is much like looking in a mirror and seeing a parallel in another life kingdom? Maybe it's no surprise that hybridizers have been consciously or unconsciously striving for more and more round, face-like shapes in our modern plants?

Orchids have been around for a long time - their pollen has been found in fossilized amber dated to be over 60 million years old, and scientists think that the earliest orchids were around up to 90 million years ago – that's during the time of the dinosaurs! There are over 20,000 species of orchids and many, many more human made and natural hybrids. They live on every continent except for Antarctica and comprise almost ten percent of the world's flowering plants. Thirteen species of orchids live north of the Arctic Circle and some live in southern Tasmania, not far from Antarctica, disproving the common belief that orchids are only tropical. In fact, more than 50 species of orchids have been documented from Illinois, my home state, alone!

Primarily working from life, first I make pencil studies, and then transfer the drawings to 100% rag Fabriano watercolor paper or Canson toned papers. Carefully working with delicate glazes of watercolor, I strive to capture their spirit and form in all stages of bloom.

Part of the context of my work is my ongoing participation in regional and international orchid conservation. In 2009 I had the privilege of being invited to present a session at the Native Orchid Conference (at the University of Wisconsin, Green Bay that year), on the topic of Challenges and Strategies for Native Orchid Conservation in Illinois and the Chicago Wilderness Region. I was also invited to contribute articles and illustrations to many publications, including Illinois Audubon, Chicago Wilderness magazine, the Native Orchid Conference Journal, Illinois Steward magazine and Orchid Conservation Coalition. I enjoy volunteering for the Chicago Botanic Garden Plants of Concern program, doing citizen science monitoring of several species of locally rare plants. Working with Orland Grassland steward Pat Hayes was a wonderful way to develop relationships with the conservation community in Chicagoland. We were asked to design and implement the Chicago Wilderness passport program, to more deeply involve young people in natural areas stewardship activities.

Volunteer work for researchers at the Chicago Botanic Garden and elsewhere has offered a unique window into the artistic connections between ecology and the lure of the beautiful as well as shown me the tensions between wildlife under pressure and the exigency of human needs. In particular, our elusive and disappearing native orchids highlight the close and subtle interrelationships within the natural world. Because orchids are so sensitive to their environment they have much to teach us about living in harmony with nature