Since March 2020, I tend to think about flowers in their simplicity, symbolizing kindness, compassion, and love, and paint them in the context of abundant gardens and as unique individuals. Flora historically has taken part in storytelling and myth: Pyramus and Thisbe under the mulberry tree, Hippomenes receiving golden apples from Aphrodite, Proserpina picking violets before her abduction by Hades, etc. Flowers cycle between life and death, regenerate in the spring after brutal winters, and remain resilient - a hopeful metaphor for human nature and our ability to heal. Each painting from the Gardens series is another testament to nature and mankind.