My passion for painting flowers started with a gift of a floral arrangement. Photographing it up close, I noticed how the slightest movement of the camera created an entirely new composition. I was fascinated by the way each petal changed shape. The challenge would be to render this explosion of color into a bold yet harmonious design. Then, on an African safari, the experience of seeing wild animals up close set me on a new path. Flora made room for fauna. In my “Garden Variety” series, I’m moving from realistic interpretations of an image to a fanciful reinvention of the world.