This year I realized one of the greatest joys I get in life is watching things grow – the two most prominent examples in my life being my kids and the garden. We made a frog pond in the garden this year and got tadpoles and I had way more fun than I thought I would checking in on their progress all summer long. Most recently I watched the orchids on the window sill over my kitchen sink send up shoots (I was extra stoked about a double shoot from one of them) and then slowly grow little buds that unfurled into beautiful orchid blooms. At the surface it seemed a bit weird just how much joy I was getting from these silly things, but when I thought about it more it made perfect sense. Painting flowers doesn’t bring me exactly the same kind of joy as watching them bloom, but it’s joyful in another sense. And they will always remain one of my favorite things to paint (along with portraits – I wonder if for the same reason…).

This collection of floral arrangements came from flowers in my garden over the summer: tulips I planted last November, cosmos from the front yard, bachelor buttons from the back. They are a bit more illustrative in nature, with a focus on color and brushstroke. They are all 16×20″ oil on paper – one of my first experiments with oil paper, which I enjoyed. They were joyful to paint and remind me of the joy I get from my garden – and I hope they bring you some joy too!

They will be available as originals, as well as glicée prints, in the shop on Monday, January 8th at 4PM CST.