I create oil paintings of plants and animals, primarily birds, that exist at the intersection of scientific illustration and design. My work is driven by a desire to add more beauty to the world and to inspire people to look more closely at nature, whether in distant ecosystems or in their own backyards.
Each painting begins with direct observation. I typically only paint organisms I have encountered in person, drawing from memory, field experience, and accumulated knowledge rather than relying solely on photographic reference. This allows the work to feel both studied and personal, grounded in science, but shaped by lived experience.
I am deeply influenced by natural history illustration, particularly artists like John James Audubon, Elizabeth Gould, and Edward Lear. At the same time, I incorporate visual elements from Art Deco and midcentury modern design, using streamlined forms, geometric patterns, and stylized motifs to reinterpret these traditions through a stylized lens. I am especially interested in how design can reflect biology. feathers into rhythm, vines into gesture, habitats into structure.
I work in oil paint on hand-prepared eucalyptus panels. The smooth surface allows for clean, controlled edges, while the richness of oil paint captures the luminosity and depth of natural forms. I often integrate scientific details directly into the composition, such as range maps, common and scientific names, and habitat cues, so that each piece functions as both a work of art and a kind of visual field guide.
Underlying the work is a sense of exploration, not only in the physical sense of travel, but in the act of noticing. I am drawn to the mythology of the naturalist: the idea of moving through a landscape with attention, recording what is seen, naming, discovering, and understanding. My paintings aim to recreate that experience in a small way, offering an image that invites both aesthetic appreciation and curiosity.
I want viewers to feel a sense of wonder, to recognize both the strangeness and familiarity of the natural world. A bird from a distant rainforest and one from a backyard tree share the same quiet complexity. By bringing these organisms into focus, I hope to encourage a deeper awareness of the biodiversity that surrounds us.
As the body of work grows, I think of it as an unfolding archive, a kind of painted field guide, where each piece contributes to a larger effort to observe, document, and celebrate life. Not as something distant or abstract, but as something immediate, intricate, and worth paying attention to.
