Flora & Fauna

I was raised on a farm. Well, that isn’t technically true; my mother married a farmer when i was 13 and i became a farm boy. I have always loved animals, we had the usual hodgepodge of pets as children.

My favorite pet was a bald faced heifer my dad bought us when we moved to Bellingham, Washington and lived on 1.5 acres in an old farmhouse. My dad had literally grown up on a farm in Thyee, Idaho – he was away from us a lot as a truck driver and i think it was his attempt to connect us with his upbringing. To my distress my “pet” also became our family meat locker one winter; because apparently that’s what beef cattle are for on a farm… who knew.

My love of plants came later in life. I had always admired nature and plant, but was more focused on drawing and painting humans with the plants as background. But as my family progressed and time and space became more of an issue i turned to subjects that i could draw and paint faster, where the “production” of creating could fit on the family dining room table and be cleared up in time for dinner.

Unpacking some books and straightening bookshelves the other day i came across an old sketch book from 1991 (i think) and found some sketches that reminded me where that ritual of thinking smaller started becoming a bigger part of my life.

Enjoy.