© 2011
As far back as I can remember my mother has always kept a garden. Tilling the dirt with freshly manicured hands. Her gardens have never been tidy affairs, jasmin climbing over roses shading thirsty ferns - organized chaos, a tangle of green peppered with petals. Everything in my mother’s aesthetic world becomes an art piece, her gardens especially. She sees past the defined forms of her plants, looking closely at the deconstructed shapes. This book is a unique glimpse into the way she sees her world, a beautiful place of color and shade.
Plants have played a prominent role in my life since earliest memory; however, despite my love of plants and gardening, it is my passion for oil painting that inspired these images. These images are a study of form, color and compositions for that next painting.
The garden in which most of these plants are grown is by no means a show garden. It is an ever changing canvas where the emphasis will always be on experimentation, seeking exceptional form, color and composition.
Thanks to my wonderful daughters Lauren and Sarah whom I rely on all the time for their extraordinary insight and input.
Also my amazing photography teacher Larry Lytle.